Nameless Song
by Raelesti
Summary: The rain fell fast and hard. His world was blurring into darkness, scratchy and gray. She'd found him that night, a hurt stray. Yet fate held them together in the name of a promise. Hesitantly, his eyes caught onto hers. Searching, wondering… captivated.
1. The R13s

**Chapter one **The R-13s

Hesitantly, his eyes caught onto hers. Searching, wondering… captivated. He was sprawled on the limb of the cherry blossom tree in the front of the schoolyard, watching the other students go by below him. No one noticed him, and there was no one in particular that he noticed.

Except her.

She had an almost magnetic pull to him, he practically couldn't look away. Why?

She seemed to have sensed him up there, watching, lounging idly over them. She had walked passed him, but then stopped, and looked back up at him. She didn't say anything, just gave him an amused look, smiled, and turned back to continue walking with her friend.

He stared after her for the longest time…

* * *

"Kagome, I cannot believe- you did not just-!!" 

"Huh? What?" Kagome turned back to look at her friend Sango, who was gawking at her with the most peculiar look on her face.

"Do you know who that _was?_"

She shook her head, but she couldn't help from smiling for some reason.

Sango rolled her eyes, "That was Inuyasha Ishikawa!"

Kagome grinned at her best friend, "Which means…?" she prompted.

"The student that just got expelled from Kurogin High-! How have you never heard of him?" Kagome's other friends Yuka, Eri and Ayumi had caught up with them.

"Expelled?" Kagome asked blankly.

"Didn't you hear about the fight last week at Kurogin?" Ayumi asked, "Inuyasha fought 4 of these guys from Akizawa – single-handedly – and in the end he and 2 of his friends got expelled. All three of them have been transferred to our school, I think..."

At that, Eri chimed in about the rumors she'd heard, "Inuyasha was famous over at Kurogin… he was notorious for all the fights he was in… He's never lost any of them. Even that one time over at Senkai-" all the other girls seemed to nod in agreement over that thought. "What was it, 7 guys?"

"With bats."

"It was 7 guys with bats?!"

"It was 7 guys with bats," Yuka confirmed.

"Noooo."

"Yeah."

"Scary."

"I know."

"Maybe not all of them had bats?"

* * *

Plunking down in her seat in class, Kagome settled into her chair, gazing out the window. She could hear her friends talking, having still not moved off of the previous subject. All of a sudden, she had a thought. 

"If they are such mad delinquents, then why did our school let them in?" she asked curiously. "I mean, Ryukuo High's got a great GPA average…"

"Well, the three didn't get kicked out before this was because Inuyasha was their ace on K-High's track team; their principal hated to see him go, really… I think it's one of the main reasons he got let into this school."

True as if to confirm their theory, their teacher Mrs. Kaede who'd been grading papers at her desk looked up and said. "He's in our class, you know. The new boy. Won't be with us today, I suppose. I had hoped to be able to introduce him to you all. Coach Totousai's down there with him on the track right now."

"Set to make the R-13s, I heard?" Sango asked, looking over at their teacher.

"Yeah, I've heard that too, kid. Heard he was good…"

The R-13s was their school's prestigious all-boys relay team, composed of about 10 guys – 4 1st stringers, 4 2nd stringers, and 2 backups. They won State every year, and had held the record for the past 13, hence their name.

Kagome turned away from the conversation again to look out the window, not minding their chatter, but not in the mood to join them either. Outside, she had a clear view of the track, and she could see a group of guys trooping out onto the grass, coach Totousai in the lead. One guy lagged behind them, keeping their pace without difficulty at an easy lope, but seemingly in no hurry to join up with the rest of the group.

She watched him.

* * *

Inuyasha eventually caught up, almost unwillingly, to the group. Sticking his hands into the pockets of his silver and black shorts, he looked out at the track. 

"… today we're trying out for the spots in 1st string, so I'll be putting you all in pairs to race…"

Inuyasha snorted, feeling irritated.

"… just a brief work-out so that we can see what you're capable of. No need to strain yourself, we'll be observing you all as practices progress…"

A brief whistle was blown and he looked up to see people wandering away to assemble at the starting line. Totousai had stayed behind with his clipboard, marking things down. He looked up when Inuyasha moved uncertainly towards the rest of the group, and gave a small unconcerned wave of his pen as he continued to scribble.

"Go on, son. You'll do fine," the coach said without looking up, "You set the bar high by being first. No need to feel nervous."

Inuyasha looked alarmed for a moment. _First? Aw, shit._ He jogged over to the cluster of guys by the starting line. Tugging at the corner of his black t-shirt and feeling almost nervous, he bent to take his place at the marker.

* * *

Kagome heard the crack of the starting gun, and jerked her head up from her math notes to look back outside. Inuyasha was racing another guy in a lap around the track; 400 meters, long enough for endurance, but short enough for speed. Inuyasha seemed to be taking it quite easily, completely unconcerned about whatever grade he got for his times, and easily keeping pace with the other guy. Rounding a bend, he looked around him as if genially observing the scenery as it went by. Completely abandoning her homework, Kagome turned her full attention onto the track, watching him. He looked up and caught her gaze.

* * *

She was looking at him. Why? Inuyasha felt a sudden overpowering urge to show off, to show that he was better than the dimwit he was racing…

* * *

She saw him suddenly speed up, and go from a comfortable trot to a graceful sprint. Pulling ahead of his unfortunate partner, who was already panting heavily, he vaulted nimbly forward taking the last corner towards the finishing line and widening the gap between them. 

_Sango hadn't been lying. He _was _fast._

He looked over at her as he crossed the finishing line and smirked.

* * *

Feeling elated, Inuyasha jogged slowly to a stop and looked back for his partner. He was just coming up on the third corner, and was still going at it. The hanyou felt kinda guilty for making him look so bad, but the other half of him just felt so smug that he didn't really care. 

"49 seconds." Coach Totousai's voice announced behind him, sounding positively shocked. Inuyasha looked up. _What?_ But he'd wasted at least 10 seconds at the beginning, looning about and slacking off- _That can't be possible. _

"Inuyasha Ishikawa. 1st string." Totousai grunted, still sounding halfway between appalled and pleased.

The bell rang. Inuyasha looked back at the window where she had sat, but she'd disappeared.

* * *

Wandering the street after school, Inuyasha made his way through a dingy alleyway that was a short cut to his apartment. It was dark already, as the coach had decided to put them all through a harsh set of 'warm up' 5000 meters that were – apparently – supposed to get them in shape for the season, before allowing them to go home. Feeling slightly sore, but not completely worn out, he looked up at the musty grey sky, threatening rain any second. 

The first drop of rain fell, and he felt a flash of someone's presence behind him. He rolled his eyes. He had known it was coming. He should be feeling dread, apprehension, but all he could feel was a vague annoyance. They'd come ready this time too, with – he counted mentally – about 20 men. The annoyance increased. He was starving; he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

_Geez._

Chalky lightning scraped across the sky, a liquid flare of white. "Did you think we wouldn't find you?" a cold voice murmured silkily, "Where's the Shikon no Tama you stole from us, Inuyasha?" The twenty or so men surrounding Inuyasha closed the circle…

A single bolt of thunder sparked through the sky, blood fusing with rain.

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter!! Please review! -kneels on floor and begs unshamedly- XD. 

PARODY!!

True as if to confirm their theory, their teacher Mrs. Kaede who'd been grading papers at her desk looked up and said. "He's in our class, you know. The new boy. Won't be with us today, I suppose. I had hoped to be able to introduce him to you all. Coach Totousai's down there with him on the track right now."

"Set to make the R-13s, I heard?" Sango asked, looking over at their teacher.

"Hell, no! Ew! Have you seen that kid run, girl? Man, it's like watchin' the sumo version of Baywatch-"

XDDDD.


	2. Romeo and Juliet

**Chapter two **Romeo and Juliet

Hello, min'na-saaaaaaan!!

Thank you guys so much for reviewing in my last chapter!! I've been grinning madly like a mad loon for god knows how long now. XD.

Here's the new chappie - have fun!! I'm sorry I didn't get it up earlier. I was working really hard, I swear!! lol. Although, I digress that by really hard... I mean freakishly slowly as I watched Friends, played minesweeper, ate a granola bar and tried to write at the same time. XDD.

* * *

The rain fell fast and hard, like a thick mist of heavy water sleeting down in icy layers. His world was dissolving in darkness that dripped across his vision, blotting out all thought and comprehension. Everything blurred together, scratchy and grey. Inuyasha's grip on his left shoulder tightened, trying to crush out the pain that seeped out with the blood pooling onto the floor. He leaned his back against the cold cement wall, feeling the watery needles that punched into his skin. Blood washed with water, fading the thick color smudged on the wall, but unable to fully bleach away the marks. The rain continued to fall. 

Suddenly, a pair of small paws rested against his leg, and he looked over, startled by the unexpected contact. A small black kitten looked up at him curiously, astonishing blue eyes questioning and surprised.

It sniffed inquisitively around Inuyasha and cocked its head, as if wondering if Inuyasha should be there, almost as if he were wondering if the hanyou were lost or something and trying to decide if he should help or not. Finally, seemingly satisfied by his expedition around Inuyasha's legs, the kitten settled down beside him underneath the crook of his elbow and huddled close, a small sopping bundle of fur. Inuyasha smiled slightly, lifting his injured arm gingerly to look at the cat. He scooped the kitten up with his good arm, and slid him into his jacket, hugging it close to him to keep it warm and shield it from the rain. It purred contentedly against his chest, and closed it's eyes happily. The rain continued to fall.

The silence splattered down with the translucent marbles of rain, time evoking a slow caramel-like texture that made the darkness seem deafening. He could feel the warm blood running through the fingers he had clenched around his shoulder; he could feel the hot metallic bite as it trickling down his back.

_God, this hurts like hell. _

He was so totally screwed and he knew it.

He'd managed to get away, but he had no place to go; his apartment would be the first place they'd destroy… The hospitals wouldn't be safe… Miroku was out of town on a fishing trip with his dad, Kouga's anniversary with Ayame was today… He was alone. He wouldn't live through the night.

He could feel his vision fading again and his consciousness start to slip… He couldn't hold out much longer. He was going to bleed to death in an alley. Great. This seemed almost as tragic as Romeo and Juliet. But _worse_. God, so much worse. They died together.

…And he was going to die alone.

* * *

Kagome trudged easily along the sidewalk, the braided cloth handle of a paper bag looped between her fingers in one hand, and the handle of her umbrella in the other. She felt slightly anxious at being out alone at this hour, but otherwise in a good mood. She had just left her housewarming party, which, ironically, didn't take place at her house, but she'd had a good time. Sango had bought her gorgeous blue and brown striped curtains, which were shuffling around in its plastic packaging inside the paper bag. 

She'd just gotten her new apartment and moved in only yesterday. Both of her parents and her little brother Souta had recently moved to Hokkaido due to her father's job transfer. But with only a year of high school left, her parents had let her decide whether to stay or not; feeling vaguely proud of her independence, she had opted to stay.

And now she missed her mother like mad.

The cold wind splashing against her shoulders jolted her abruptly back into reality, the pepper of rain on her umbrella surprisingly loud. Tired, she rubbed her eyes, grinning guiltily to herself.

* * *

"I'm gonna name you Choco, okay?" Inuyasha murmured abruptly down at the tiny cat, trying to distract himself. "Choco like chocolate because… I'm hungry." He laughed, a weak humorless laugh, more at himself than anything else. _Choco like something sweet. Something far away from the tang of blood of tonight._

He gave up and closed his eyes, just waiting for the darkness to take him. He didn't even bother to fight it anymore, the sharp throb cutting into his shoulder was growing duller and duller… And the jagged pain that lacerated his side was fading too…

The kitten mewed and licked his chin as if it was he knew something was wrong and trying to reassure him. Its ears pricked up, and it looked around, sensing something that Inuyasha couldn't. Looking contrite, it jumped out of its warm burrow in his jacket, nuzzled against his leg and trotted lightly out into the darkness of the surrounding streets.

* * *

A soft mewling sound interrupted Kagome's thoughts, and she stopped under a hazy streetlamp, looking back at the dark alleyway she had just passed. The meowing grew louder, more insistent… 

_A stray maybe?_

Seeing something dart forward from the shadows, she hunkered down to look at it, tipping her umbrella forward to shield the little animal from the rain. A small black cat looked up at her, blinking its blue eyes and meowing fretfully. When Kagome, confused, reached out a gentle hand to pet it, it lightly gnawed at her finger, trying to pull her forward with him. Its soft whine grew more incessant as if afraid she was going to smile, disregard him and disappear.

It skipped out from under the brim of her umbrella, and stopped to wait for her at the mouth of the alley. Tilting its head to one side, he waited.

Feeling a sudden acute awareness that something was wrong, Kagome followed the kitten out off the main street, and turned into the dark passageway. The small ball of black fur was hard to make out in the shadowed back streets, but every few steps, he'd stop, meow and wait for her. Finally, it scampered around a corner and disappeared.

She felt uneasy, but experienced an almost unrealistic lack of fear. Kagome moved forward apprehensively. Letting a hand trace against the wet brick wall of the building behind her, she peeked around the corner.

_Inuyasha._ Kagome gasped, her breath catching sharply in her chest. Her bag slid from her fingers. Rushing forward, she kneeled on the wet ground beside him, heedless of the pounding rain and the sopping floor, heedless of the flash of lightning that split overhead.

She put her hand on his neck, feeling for a pulse. The kitten looked up at her reproachfully from where it'd curled back up again in his jacket. Blood was splattered everywhere, inked on the walls and scrawled across the floor. Inuyasha lay leaning against the wall; his eyes were closed.

He stirred when she touched the back of her fingers to his cheek. _He was cold. So cold. _She could feel the panic welling up inside of her, but at the same time, she felt strangely calm. Her hands were shaking, but she knew what she had to do.

And no way in hell was she gonna let him die here.

* * *

Inuyasha didn't have anymore strength left to stay conscious, but he wasn't unconscious yet. The darkness was so close… he could just let go... 

The harsh brittle sound of rain was receding… the pain was fading…

"… Inu… Inuyasha…?"

He felt a light vanilla scent with a soft golden citrus overtone wash over him.

_What…? _Confusion thrashed against his desperate tiredness, he shied away from the darkness. Something in the voice pleaded with him, luring him back against his will… Inuyasha opened his eyes.

It was her. "Y-you." His words accused her with a weak smile. His voice was raw and had a soft rasp to it. _The girl from this morning. _"What are you doing here…?" Coughing, he could taste blood. He attempted to wipe it away with the back of his hand, but Kagome had already pressed her handkerchief to lips and was gently dabbing the blood away, careful of his split lip.

He looked up at her, his golden eyes tracing hers, puzzled. _Why are you helping me? _

…_Because… I don't want you to die here alone._

"C'mon, we have to get you out of here," Kagome murmured. With an apologetic smile, she slowly eased him up into a sitting position. He cooperated obediently, wincing as he fought to pull together his strength, ignoring the sharp pain that clawed against his side. He gritted his teeth and managed to struggle up to his feet through sheer force of mind. Ignoring the pain numbly, he could feel the sweat drip down his flushed cheeks. His body was still unsteady and shaky, his feet unbalanced. Kagome pulled his arm around her shoulder to support him, and he allowed himself to lean against her, staggering slightly.

Kagome could tell he was in a lot of pain, even if he kept silent. And she wasn't going to ask him if he was okay, because he clearly wasn't. She could feel him trembling as he bit his lip, trying to hold down the agony. Kagome let him lean heavily against her as she pulled him forward hesitantly, trying to be gentle, to ease his pain – if only a little.

"I'm going to take you to the hospital, okay? We need to get those wounds of yours looked at…"

"No-" he stopped dead, breathing heavily, "I-I cant… They'll… be there… waiting…"

So he _had _only just gotten away. Kagome didn't ask anymore questions, but nodded. "Well… then… I hope my house will be okay."

He was touched, so deeply grateful that she hadn't asked any questions. He wouldn't have the strength to answer them.

"Thank you."

* * *

Please review! The more I get, the more motivated I will be to stay up all night typing the next chapter... -hint.hint- lol. XD. Thanks, guys!! 

PARODY!!

He could feel his vision fading again and his consciousness start to slip… He couldn't hold out much longer. He was going to bleed to death in an alley. Great. This seemed almost as tragic as Romeo and Juliet. But _worse_. God, so much worse. Stupid Juliet got to die with Leonardo friggin' Dicaprio. Did he get to die with a hott guy? _Nooooo. _Of course not. He had to die Leonardo-less, with a wedgie and his foot stuck in a puddle.

Gawd. The indignity of it all.

_Ooooooooh, a quarter._

XDDDD. Hahaha... I am picturing Inuyasha thinking this in my head. It is so creepy... -rolls around on floor laughing hysterically-


	3. A Fatal Promise

**Chapter three: **A Fatal Promise

Hey guys! Thank you peeps soooo much for reviewing in the past chapter!!

I worked extra hard to make it longer this time, as per the request from Lady Otori. XD. I'd thought it was a bit short before too.. It always seems so much longer on Microsoft Word. -scuffs shoe shamedly on the carpet-.

Oh, and also a special thanks to Lady Otori, InuyashaForever14, Ice Miko-chan, sakuraxfireblossem, Notes-and-Photographs, Nikki-chan, sailormoonnarutoinuyashalover and MyInuyashaObsession. You reviews were especially sweet. Love you all!!

* * *

Inuyasha stumbled forward blindly beside her, fading in and out of consciousness. He missed a step and nearly pulled them both down, but he pushed himself back up with ferocious willpower. Blood trickled onto the sidewalk, a steady trail of red against the grey cement. 

_How is he managing this?_ Kagome thought.

She was beginning to feel nervous. She didn't have the medical knowledge or expertise to take care of him, and if a doctor was out of the question… _what could she do?_ _What if his injuries were fatal? What if he…-? _She choked back the thought.

Inuyasha could feel her emotions, and he sensed the change. He knew what she was thinking. He felt an unforeseen torment in her.

"I won't die," he murmured quietly. Her steps faltered, startled.

"Promise me," she said in a small voice.

"I promise."

* * *

Kagome clicked the door of her apartment open with a small twist of her key. Pushing it open, she hauled Inuyasha inside. 

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she gasped, suddenly remembering. The apartment was more or less bare of all furniture except a bed, a TV, a table and some chairs and a fridge. "I… I just moved in here. I forgot. Please excuse the mess…" a jumble of boxes full of clothes was heaped in a corner and a pile of brand new dishes were stacked by the sink.

Inuyasha laughed softly. "I'm sorry for dripping blood all over your new floors then…" he said weakly. She grinned at him, glad that he seemed to be okay enough to kid around.

Locking the door behind her with one hand as she continued to support Inuyasha with the other, she looked around, unsure for a moment. They were both sopping wet.

He seemed to be able to read her mind. "I can towel myself off…" he offered.

She looked relieved, glad she didn't have to venture into awkward territory, both mentally, spiritually, and… er… physically. "Towels, then…" she muttered distractedly, mentally going though her boxes. Kagome lowered him carefully into a chair by the table, trying to be as gentle as possible. Inuyasha clutched at the edge of the table, his knuckles white. Inwardly he was cussing himself out, he hurt that bad, but he held it in and managed to give her a feeble smile. Scooping out the kitten stuffed unceremoniously into his pocket before, Inuyasha placed him neatly on the tabletop.

"Hey, boy…" Choco dusted himself off with a paw, and blinked up at Inuyasha, mewling happily. Kagome came back from the mass of boxes with a stack of fluffy white towels, and some dry clothes for Inuyasha. A pair of grey sweat pants and a dark blue t-shirt.

Enveloping the kitten in a towel, she began to rub him dry, much to the protest of the recipient. "Those clothes were my dad's. I hope they'll fit you," Kagome said, looking over at Inuyasha. She noticed just how tall he was for the first time, a lanky six feet at least. She set Choco on the floor and allowed him to wander. Taking another towel from the pile, she began to towel off Inuyasha's long silver hair.

"You should change too…" he murmured. Kagome looked down at herself, and realized that she was soaked through too. She'd completely forgotten. Her green French blouse clung to her damply, and her jeans were dripping. "I'll get changed while you do…" he pointed out as if to assure her. He winced as he shifted in his chair, but the pain had numbed, and while not gone, more easily ignored. Because she was there. Because she was there close to him.

" 'kay." She grabbed her pajamas, turning towards the bathroom. "Will you be okay while I'm gone?" she asked worriedly, knowing that her fears were beyond immature, but unable to loosen the strange and unexpected knot in her stomach. The blood she'd seen etched across the walls in the alleyway flashed through her mind – a haunting instant of dark remembrance.

He felt a disquieting anger at himself, and an abrupt sadness…

He'd made her worry.

"I promised you I would be," he managed to give her a smug grin. "I won't break that promise… Unless you wanna, y'know… change in front of me. I won't say no to that." He spread his arms as if to say, _be my guest. _His eyes twinkled mischievously.

_Don't imagine it, don't imagine it, _he told himself. His grip on the edge of the table tightened.

She flashed him an embarrassed smile, refusing him with a flirtatious grin. Giving him a playful punch of the arm – careful to hit the right one – she disappeared into the bathroom.

* * *

Minutes later, Kagome came back out sporting a cute white T-shirt, snug around her slim frame, and a pair of blue plaid pajama pants. Putting her hair up in a messy bun as she closed the light behind her, she located Inuyasha with her eyes, the weight on her chest lessening slightly. She felt an unexplainable relief when she found him, resolutely trying to put his shirt on, but grimacing every time he tried to move his arm. He finally gave up and sat pouting childishly, unaware that she was watching. 

_God, he was so adorable._

"I'll help you put your shirt on once I patch you up," Kagome suggested, trying to find a compromise with what he had going on there.

"Oh, yeah. Okay. Thanks." She laughed, helping him tug the shirt off. Her eyes strayed across his smooth skin and lean muscles for a moment too long. Moving his hair out of the way, she saw the blood trickling down his back and the brutal gash on his shoulder. Various bruises and scrapes dotted his chest, arms, and back, and his side had been roughly clawed open. She felt a sudden sharp ache in her chest, a single tear slid down her cheek without warning, but Kagome swiped it away fiercely. If he could take it, so could she.

Getting out her first aid kit, she guided him slowly over to the bed where he sat down. She plopped down behind him, careful not to rock the bed unnecessarily. Inuyasha flinched as she began dabbing disinfectant on his shoulder, but otherwise gave no sign of feeling it.

"How'd you find me?" Inuyasha mused suddenly, the question occurring to him.

"Your cat," Kagome replied absently, concentrating on what she was doing. They both glanced over at the small black kitten gamboling around in the corner, wrestling with what looked suspiciously like a pair of pantyhose.

"He did? How?" The hanyou sounded faintly bewildered.

"He brought me," _To find you._ "He caught me as I was coming home. He was worried about you."

Inuyasha chuckled softly, the deep throaty sound reverberating in his chest.

There was a brief silence, but it was neither awkward nor strained. Just silence.

"C-can I ask…?" Kagome began, unsure if she should venture there.

"Yeah." He knew what she was thinking. "But, it's… it's a long story."

* * *

"8 days ago, I stole the Shikon no Tama from Naraku. He's… a leader of a gang. A big one. I shouldn't have. But I did. They were going to use it to help generate the energy for their nuclear program and to create nuclear weapons. To make the big bucks, he said. I overheard them one night when I was out on the streets. They were sitting on the curb and smokin' their cigarettes… they were going to dump the radioactive waste in that river by your school. They were already planning it. I… I didn't know what to do. No. I knew what I had to do. I just…" he paused, looking uncomfortable. "I never planned to get caught. Or _seen_, in my case, actually. I snuck into their hideout that night. I followed Naraku, and I managed to get in, and get the Shikon no Tama without being discovered, but on the way out, Naraku saw me. He had about 7 men with him. I knocked half of them out, and got away, but… It was done. They'd already seen who I was." 

Her heart sank. Kagome finished tying the bandage on his shoulder, and moved in front of him to take a look at the wound on his side. Their eyes met, his golden eyes so puzzled, so confused. The pressure in her chest intensified painfully as she applied a bit of the antiseptic to the cut on his cheek. "So they found you tonight for revenge, didn't they?"

He sighed. "Yeah."

"Is that why you were expelled?" she asked, linking two and two together.

"Yeah, they pulled some strings, and managed to dismiss the old principal. They replaced it with a new one. One of their men. I was expelled because I got into a fight set up by their gang. Gay-ass kids from Akizawa…" he muttered bitterly. "And my friends were too. They had nothing to do with it."

She'd finished bandaging the wound at his side, and had applied ointment to the various cuts and bruises on his chest. "I know… But would you have done things differently?"

He looked rueful, but didn't hesitate. "No."

She raised her eyebrows as if to say, _'well there you have it'. _"Do you regret it?" she asked quietly.

"… No." His eyes lingered on hers for the eternity of a second…

* * *

"I, er… only have…" 

"One bed?" he supplied, looking supremely unruffled by the issue.

"Uh, yeah... and… um, normally, I'd say that I'd kip out on the couch or something, but-"

"There is no couch."

"Er… that would be correct."

He didn't want to say it… but he knew it was the truth.

Even though he wanted to do the exact opposite…

"I won't try anything," he said softly.

It had never crossed her mind to be worried about that. "I know." She felt an instinctive trust for him. Odd, but unquestionable, as unbreakable as the fatal promise that held them together.

"I-I'll stay on my side of the bed or something," he sounded taken aback that she didn't doubt him.

"I wouldn't think you'd be flouncing around too much, with your shoulder so beat up," she smiled, gently helping him slide his shirt back on. He shook his hair out of his eyes, looking like a puppy. "I could go out to buy some painkillers to help you through the night, though-?"

No. He shook his head quickly. He didn't want her going out alone at this hour. Not for him. He could take it. And he had a feeling he might not be able to restrain himself under medication…His fastidious self-control – already pushed to its limit – would break down. He wouldn't be able to resist her.

"No. I'm fine… It's really not that bad."

* * *

Pushing back the downy linen duvet, Inuyasha opened his eyes into the darkness. He couldn't sleep. 

He was so acutely aware of her there beside him, her breathing peaceful and even. Her bed was queen-sized, but it was a cold night, and unconsciously she had snuggled close to him as she slept. The pain had ebbed; he just felt an – embarrassingly – pleasant anxiety.

He felt nervous, but so goddamn happily so.

Her arms were linked around one of his, as he lay on his back, and Kagome curled on her side.

He could smell her scent, the vague Tahitian vanilla calming and cheerful. He felt a vivid wonder at the way her skin felt against his. And the way she trusted him so easily, trusting herself to him on nothing more than a promise.

She stirred slightly, her hands tightening around his arm. Kagome mumbled something incoherently and buried her face against his T-shirt.

He laughed. She had an otherworldly beauty to her, the way the moonlight fell across her slender shoulders, and the way her hair cascaded across her pillow. She was so beautiful, he almost couldn't breathe.

Inuyasha smoothed back a stray curl from her face, bringing his face close to tickle her nose with his. Threading his fingers through hers underneath the duvet, he closed his eyes.

He'd thought he'd die deserted and alone… But instead he'd found his Juliet.

_Did my heart love till now- forswear it sight; for I never saw true beauty…_

… _Till this night._

* * *

-lol. Okay, so it really wasn't that much longer now was it? -dodges Lady Otori's javelin- I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll work at it, I promise. XD. 

Aw, frick. Now I have to type another chapter, don't I? XDDDDD.

Anyways, the last line refers to a line in Romeo and Juliet where Romeo first meets Claire Danes. (Er. a.k.a Juliet. XD.) Gawd, I absolutely loved the way Leonardo delivered those lines... -has a mad swooning fit-

The following is part of a documentation of the late night conversation between Inuyasha and Kagome, before the latter snoozed off. Enjoy!

PARODY!! Er. I think not.

"Scooch over!" Kagome muttered.

"I'm on my side of the bed, ain't I?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"You and your big butt."

"I would thank you to keep your nose out of other people's butts."

"Ewww."

"That was a weird image."

"I know."

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"I think ."

"Ewwww. Guttermind!!"

"_Whaaaa-?"_

"In my mind, you have a hooked nose."

"Oh, dear God. That takes off at least 500 hubba hubba points, dun'it?"

"Yeah. More or less."

"Well, in my mind, you have this sort of moustache-y contraption going on."

"_A moustache-y contraption??"_

"It's actually pretty cool, 'cause you can store things in it. See? There, you just pulled out the bike you keep in there for quick getaways."

"That is pretty cool, I gotta say."

"In'it?"

"Yeah."

"Now, I kinda wanna grow a moustache… Then I can stroke it, and look all wise."

"Er. You do realize that when you try stroking your beard or whatever, it looks like you're making the lesbian sign...?"

"The _lesbian_ sign??"

"Yeah, see? When you put your thumb and index finger out like that…"

"I can't see your hand."

"Well, we will just have to try harder now, won't we?"

"Hah-! I may be a lesbian for all you know."

"You're a guy!"

"Hahaha. That's a good one."

"Blargh."

"My inner lesbian is just waiting to get out."

"I think I may just be on the verge of tears."

"Hey! I would make a great lesbian lover!"

"Says who?? You're _gay _lover?"

"Of cou- heeeey, how'd you find out about that-? Miroku said it was going to be our dirty little secret-"

"Oh, god. Bad images again."

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"I hope not. Are you seeing what _I'm _seeing?"

"Urgh, I hope not."

I've had way too much fun with this. X3. Yay-yuh! Review, onegaishimaaaaaasu. -


	4. Dark Innocence

**Chapter Four: **Dark Innocence

Salutations to all of my fabulous mad peeps. Thanks to all of you who reviewed for my previous chapters. I love you all like no other! I'm sorry I haven't updated for months. I've had a major case of writer's block and ammnesia. And, just the stress of AP Bio, I've not been in any sane state to write lately. XD. So, I offer my most humble apologies on that particular matter. Heh. --;

Anyways, I've made sure this chapter is particularily long due to some previous requests. (Do you know how many sleepless nights this took me?? Okay, just one. But still.)

Ah, yes, and a special thanks to: Susie-Cab-chan, Painted Canvas, tweakinuears-san, heavenslilcherry, inuloveryasha, Angelaine, copycater-sama, xXKimikoSakakiXx, Belldandychan, mousymousyboing, sailormoonnarutoinuyashalover, and of course, InuyashaForever14, inuyashachick04, MyInuyashaObsession, Princess Love, and Kasara. Thank you all, I love all of you so much!!

Hope you guys like this chapter!

* * *

She woke up to the steady sound of his heartbeat. He was close, so dangerously close; his heart beating out a venomous magic, poisonously sweet and intoxicating. 

His arm was hooked loosely around her, and she could feel his breath tickling past her ear. Her fingers were curled lightly in his shirt, the tantalizing heat seeping in past her fingertips through the gentle rising and falling of his chest.

He tempted her with such a dark innocence.

Kagome blinked against the golden sunlight that laced the covers, embarrassed at feeling so comfortable under such _un_comfortable proximities. The nearness felt so right though… and he just smelled so friggin' good, that… she couldn't bring herself to pull away.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha's sleeping face; he looked so peaceful and childlike. Trusting her as if he'd known her all his life. Awake, his eyes seemed to hold so unforgettable a sadness that he had to work hard to mask it. Trying to deceive himself with a forged anger. She hadn't known him long… but she could see it. It was there in his eyes, hidden, but so openly exposed for the world to see – if only they knew how to look.

_He'd been lonely. He'd been lonely for so long. _

And yet he'd let down his guard around her, believing in her with an unspoken of faith.

She watched him sleep and wondered if he was dreaming of her. Kagome closed her eyes… knowing she would dream of him.

"You're so warm," she giggled softly, snuggling close.

* * *

Inuyasha's ears twitched, "You're pretty hot yourself, Miss." He grinned, shifting slightly as he knuckled the sleep out of his eyes with one hand. 

Sleepily, he saw her blush, a soft pink tint that flushed a rosy glow across her cheeks. God, he wanted to take her right there. To corrupt her white with his black - to see if she'd be able to purify his dark temptations.

He smiled, leaning in slowly towards her… His lips just barely brushed hers…

And a sharp burst of pain shocked him backward. The cut in his shoulder ripped open again at the unexpected strain, and he fell back against his pillow with a wince.

_Damn, and he had been so close too…_

The initial pain triggered a stiff ache in his chest and the memories from last night flooded back.

No. He couldn't… Not with Kagome.

He'd… be putting her in danger.

If Naraku ever found out about her… If he ever found out that she was the one who'd saved him…

They couldn't be together, he couldn't let it happen.

The realization was agonizing. She was the one thing that he wanted. The one thing he wanted so bad.

And he couldn't. He wouldn't do that to her. He would not let the shadows that obscured his world to violate hers.

If he had to choose between protecting her as his princess and spoiling her as her prince…

Kagome felt Inuyasha gather her close in his arms and lean his forehead gently against hers. He closed his eyes again. He had to remember this. These last moments before he regained his self control.

Then he would distance himself from her.

This was the only way he could protect her. The only way he knew how.

He would rather be the knight who protected her from afar, and suffered for his love in silence, than the prince who doomed his princess to eternal sleep.

* * *

"I have to go," he said quietly, grimacing as he slowly sat up. His fairy tale was ending. 

Kagome dropped her feet off the side of the bed and fished around on the floor for slippers. "I'll make us breakfast," it wasn't a question or an invitation, just a provided service that included a complementary meal. "Any particular cravings?"

Inuyasha looked surprised. He'd never been asked a question like that before. He usually just ate whatever he could find in the pantry. At one point he lived off of granola bars for almost a week. He'd cook for himself sometimes if he was feeling generous, but it was never anything that could be even remotely termed as elaborate.

"I-I, yeah. I – um – I dunno…" he stuttered, caught completely off guard.

She plodded back over to him; putting two fingers on his forehead, she concentrated for a moment. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was still frantically trying to think up breakfast items. _B-bacon? _He thought, _Um… I – er – sunny side-_

"Aha!" her face lit up and she grinned, "Bacon and eggs done sunny side up."

He stared at her, completely speechless.

* * *

4 waffles, 4 pieces of bacon, 2 eggs, a bowl of fruit and a cup of coffee later, Inuyasha was sated and happy. 

… Maybe he really didn't have to leave. Who says Naraku was ever going to find out anything? He wanted to stay here. He wanted to stay here in his Shangrilian paradise…

The phone rang, startling him from his thoughts. Kagome reached over for the phone and answered it, silencing the sharp ringing.

"Hello?" she paused for a minute. "Uh, yeah-" she looked surprised. "It's for you," she turned toward Inuyasha, offering him the phone.

Inuyasha felt a foreboding pressure in his chest, and his fingers tingled as he grasped the phone receiver. It couldn't be… Naraku?

_Kagome was already in danger-_

He took a deep breath."Hello?"

"INUYASHA, YOU LITTLE MOFO!"

"Whaaaa-? Oh, my god, Miroku!"

"Who'd you think it was, Inuyasha?" Miroku sounded coy on the other end. "I've been calling you on your cell for ages, but you wouldn't pick up! I suspected you'd put it on vibrate and ditched it again somewhere, but then-" he sounded apprehensive, "then this strange man picked up and began demanding your whereabouts… Severely creeped me out to the point where I had to activate the tracking device on your shoe to locate you…"

"You put _another_ tracking device on my shoe, Miroku?! I told you to test your gadgets and bloody inventions on someone else-"

"But I found you didn't I? No, no, that's not the point – Inuyasha – I've been listening to the VX300 I told you to plant in Naraku's office – remember that? – and I heard about what happened yesterday- You got away fine, Inuyasha, but they're looking for you. They know you associated with somebody last night-"

Inuyasha's heart stopped.

"… It was that girl othat was on the phone before, right? Get out, Inuyasha. Get out now. If they find out about her-"

"I won't let that happen."

"I have your motorcycle parked outside of the address shown on my GPS. I won't confirm the address with you in case we're being tapped. But, Inuyasha, be careful-"

"I know… for her sake if not for mine."

There was a stunned silence. "Oh, god. Inuyasha, you've already fallen for her."

_How the hell does he pick up on things like that? _Inuyasha laughed, but he didn't deny it. "It doesn't matter anymore though, does it?"

* * *

"Thank you," was all he said to her before he disappeared. 

_Thank you, I will protect you, be safe, I will come back._

* * *

Inuyasha could barely keep his balance on his bike; the normally invigorating power of the Ducati Monster frustrated him. Every swerve and turn he made was pulled awkwardly and the pain in his shoulder felt like it would scratch through is skin. He could feel a headache beating through the back of his skull. 

Pulling the bike to a stop behind a 7-11 across from his apartment, he parked it there and hung his helmet on the handle. He crossed the street warily. He had no intention of using his front door, instead he climbed easily into one of the tall pines that grew around his building and used it to jump lightly onto his balcony.

It was silent inside.

The lights were off.

Inuyasha crouched low, slinking closer to the glass door that led inside. It was open a crack. He pushed it open gingerly, grateful that he'd oiled it recently and that it didn't squeak. He stood up, pressing himself against the wall, and stepped in.

The door slid shut behind him. The heavy curtains drew across the window, and the world plunged into darkness. Inuyasha whirled around, but it was too late.

* * *

"Hello?" the word was put forward hesitantly. 

"Ah, the young lady from before," Miroku instantly recognized her voice. "How'd you manage to locate me?" he asked pleasantly.

"It's called the star button, hun."

"Are you mocking me, sir?"

"_Sir?_"

"Madam," he hastily amended.

"No, I am not mocking you." he could hear the laughter in her voice. "I… have a question though," he could feel her sober up on the other end, "I have a feeling that… Inuyasha might be in trouble. I don't know how to explain it. I can… I can feel it. I was… wondering – I know we're complete strangers-"

"You want his address," it wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"How do you know that's where he is?" Miroku activated his GPS.

Kagome couldn't answer his question, "I don't know how, I… I only know why. He needs to get something. And he's been intercepted."

The GPS had booted up, and Miroku scanned the screen for Inuyasha. True as Kagome had said, the red dotted blinked over Inuyasha's house.

Miroku rolled his eyes. This could be bad. "Listen up girly, it's Minato-ku, block 13, Koryo Building, 3rd floor, number 362. You know, across from that 7-11? Don't do anything stupid, alright? According to my computer, you're closer to him than me. I'm a bit farther off. You'll get there half an hour before me. I'll try to locate Kouga._ Be careful._ Inuyasha's already busting his ass trying to protect you from all of this."

"Do you… do you think he's okay?" Kagome asked timidly.

"Of course he's okay. He always is. He's Inuyasha Ishikawa. Don't worry about a thing, girlfriend," Miroku replied breezily, trying to sooth her panic. Kagome tried to gather courage from his confidence. "Do you have your cell phone on you?"

"Uh-huh." Kagome nodded.

"Then I'll contact you when you get there."

"How will you know when I get there?"

"I'll know. I'll probably know before you know."

"Do you need my number?"

Miroku laughed, sounding smug, "No."

* * *

_Shit. _Inuyasha felt someone grab his arms from behind, the rough coarse palms crushing his wrists together in a tight grip. He was pulled down and he felt another set of hands on him, catching his ankles. _God, there was more than one person? _He lashed out with his legs, trying to discern his attackers in the darkness. He skillfully hooked one of them with his right leg, and smashed him into the floor. He was rewarded with a loud guttural snarl telling him he hadn't missed. 

Inuyasha shifted with an agile swiftness, trying to throw his captor off, but the man was bigger than him, and in his injured state, he was in no condition to fight. He felt a whistling by his ear and he ducked just in time. Something had whizzed past him. A bullet? He twisted out of the way as another flew by. The man still had the hanyou's wrists trapped behind him, and he grabbed Inuyasha by the shoulder to hold him down. Inuyasha roared in pain as the man's fingers constricted agonizingly over the wound on his shoulder. His strength drained from him. At that moment something small cut into him and he felt his chest seize up. He couldn't breathe; poison was spreading through him, singing a malicious song through his veins.

_Motherfu-_

Those things hadn't been bullets. They'd been poison darts.

* * *

"You're across the street from his building, yeah?" Miroku asked, with completely no introduction. 

"Yeah," Kagome said, fumbling with her cell phone.

"I have further instructions for you. Listen carefully, I have most of this planned out. Dial 00270309873, and I'll open up my firewall so I can patch you into the mainframe of my database." Kagome did as she was told, pressing the appropriate buttons.

"Done," she told him.

"Ah, yes, I can see you on my screen. Thank God you have a camera phone so I can hack in and use the lens. Now I can see what you see. Okay, here's the plan. You climb up that tree over there – see that? No, not that tree- that one – yes – good. Right. Now, I want you to slide your cell phone over onto the balcony when you get to the top. I'll play a clip I just downloaded-"

"A voice clip is going to scare them off?" Kagome sounded skeptical.

"'Uh. Yeah. When it's a voice clip of 'we've got you surrounded, hands up in the air!' with accompanied chopper effects and police sirens. You'll have to turn the volume up on your phone though. I've already installed a sound amplifier, but, you know, a little help never hurt."

"Right," Kagome still didn't sound convinced.

"You gotta trust me, sugar. I know what I'm doin'. So, I'll walk you through the next bit so you know what to do; once they hear the loudspeaker voice blaring at them, their first instinct will be to run. Away from the voices. I'm pretty sure they're not high up in the gang, so the first thing they'll think of is saving their own skins, you with me so far?"

"Yes."

"Next, you'll have to be quick, swing into Inu's apartment and lock the door after they run out. They'll realize the entire scheme when they don't see any cops outside. They're gonna come back up through the main door. You'll have to take Inuyasha and run – I don't know how much time you'll have, it depends on how stupid these men are. Get out through the balcony. I'll be downstairs waiting for you guys in a car."

"What kind of car should I look for?"

"A red sports car. What kind of car did you think I'd drive?"

* * *

Ah, yes. It's parody time again!! Muahahahaha. 

The phone rang, startling him from his thoughts. Kagome reached over for the phone and answered it, silencing the sharp ringing.

"Hello?" she paused for a minute. "Uh, yeah-" she looked surprised. "It's for you," she turned toward Inuyasha, offering him the phone.

Inuyasha felt a foreboding pressure in his chest, and his fingers tingled as he grasped the phone receiver. It couldn't be… Naraku?

He took a deep breath."Hello?"

"INUYASHA, YOU LITTLE MOFO!"

"Naraku!"

"Why didn't you call me back when you say you would? Why do you _never _call me?!? I'm beginning to think you don't appreciate me. You know what? As punishment, I think I'm going to take away the Naraku-lovin'! YES! You heard me!! No more of my famous bang-bang moves, you hear me? Then you may begin to address the matter of _how much I MEAN TO YOU-"_

"Inuyasha... who is that?" Kagome asked, sounding slightly bewildered by all the yelling issuing from the phone.

"OMGAWD! YOU HAVE ANOTHER WOMAN OVER THERE!?!?!? INUYASHA ISHIKAWA, I THOUGHT WHAT WE HAD WAS _SPECIAL!?"_

* * *

Anyways, I hope you guys had fun reading this!! Please review! The more I get the faster I'll update. XD. Hmm... You know what? I've just decided - MUAHAHAHA - I'm not updating until I hit 60 reviews. XDDD. Thanks, dahlings!! 


	5. Sanctuary

**Chapter Five: ****Sanctuary **

First off, this chapter is dedicated to all you fabulous mofos who reviewed, I love you all!! But especially to Susie Cab, heavens lil cherry, and the friggin' awesome Painted Canvas-sama!! This chapter is for you guys! -kiss.kiss.hug.hug- Ah, yes, and to my sixtieth reviewer, Miss. Monkinkninja, thank you all so much!!

I've decided to change my direction on the next few chapters, and go for a not-so-serious, more flirty approach. It'll be a mass avalanche of fluff, perhaps? XD. Definitely lighter and fruiter though, so hopefully you guys will like that. I'm workin' on it.

Anyways, enjoy!!

* * *

"We have you surrounded! Throw your weapons to the ground, and exit the building with your hands up!" Sirens wailed and the sound of the helicopter's rotor blades were deafening. The foghorn-like voice boomed commandingly from the cell phone again. "I repeat, come out unarmed and exit the building with your hands up! Failure to comply will result in open fire!" And sure enough, bursts of machine gun fire was heard rattling against the windows. 

_Damn, that boy was good! _Kagome thought fervently. She swung onto the terrace and looked back down. The clerk in the 7-11 across the street had stumbled out with his hands up, looking bewildered. Kagome glided the glass door open, and yanked aside the floor length curtains that obscured her way. Sunlight flooded out across the dark room, illuminating a lone form lying against the back wall.

"_Inuyasha!" _Kagome rushed to him, gathering him up in her arms. "Inuyasha…" her voice choked on his name, and tears began to fall.

"I'm okay…" he whispered feebly. He smiled at her. Always and only, just for her. His chest began seizing up again, and he had to struggle to breathe. He could barely stay conscious. The button up shirt that Kagome had lent him to wear had been ripped open, exposing bare skin. Only two buttons at the bottom had managed to stay intact, holding the shirt on him.

Kagome's eyes widened when they found the mark the poison dart had tattooed on his chest.

"Pull it out…" Inuyasha muttered painfully. His breathing had become short and labored and his hand was clutched tightly in one of her own. The agony was almost unbearable.

Kagome pulled the needle out in one quick movement, and Inuyasha gasped. Blood began leaking out from the tiny wound. _Shit. _"We have to get you out of here," Kagome pressed her handkerchief against the cut to stop the bleeding. "Can you stand?" There was an edge of desperation in her voice, knowing she was asking for more than he could possibly give right now.

"You underestimate me," he drawled weakly. He couldn't do it. Not alone.

But he wasn't alone.

She was there and that was all it took. Slowly, excruciatingly, he pulled himself up. Inuyasha rested against her shoulder, panting heavily. The poison felt like it was twisting through his muscles, his throat and chest felt like they were on fire. She stroked his back soothingly until finally his breathing slowed. Her grip on his hand tightened, letting him now that she was still there, still with him. After a moment, he squeezed her hand back and whispered, "Let's blow this joint."

* * *

A sudden stampeding of footsteps exploded down the stairwell. _Oh my God, I forgot to lock the door! _Kagome whirled around in panic, Inuyasha's ears pricked up too, picking up the sounds. The hanyou threw himself against the door just as the knob turned, his agility surprising her. Pushing it back with the entire force of his body, he restrained the door from opening, clicking the lock into place. Letting loose a long string of profanities telling their attackers exactly where they could shove it, he smirked, seemingly satisfied. However, he was brought abruptly back to reality as his legs faltered and his short burst of strength faded. Kagome caught him as he fell, and he smiled up at her gratefully. 

"Don't bottle up your feelings, now," Kagome joked as they stumbled out onto the balcony. The pounding at the door was like a glorious sonata recognizing their triumph. That is, until a single gunshot was fired and their symphony ended, the door bursting open.

His instincts reacted instantly and Inuyasha grabbed Kagome, leaping down onto the sidewalk, and landing nimbly on his feet. After the brief adrenaline rush however, he collapsed onto the sidewalk on top of her. He was done. He didn't have anymore strength left. He grinned weakly. It was a magnificent way to go, though.

Miroku's red car was parked there as promised, and the door popped open for them. Kagome heaved Inuyasha in, and the car door closed behind them with a crisp snap.

"How are you, old boy?" Miroku called from the driver's seat. The car began picking up momentum as it wove in among the traffic. Miroku pumped the gas peddle happily and the 2007 Eclipse sped up to unearthly speeds; he steered them clear of Inuyasha's street without once tapping the brake.

"Been better, been worse." Inuyasha groaned.

"Lemme take a look at how much worse," Kagome murmured, examining the entering wound of the dart. He allowed her to pull his shirt back and look closer. "Do you know what kind of poison it is?"

He shook his head. "No. But it comes and goes… I don't know when the next wave will be…" he was exhausted and bruised all over. He felt her hands brush over his eyes.

"Sleep," she implored him gently, "Rest and I'll try to take a look at your wounds."

"Yeah, first aid kit is under my seat, I remembered to bring it. Kagome, you'll have to try your best… we won't be able to go to a hospital."

"Are they still there?" Inuyasha opened his eyes again.

"Yeah. I checked out all 3 hospitals in the area. No go, bro. I'm sorry."

"I can take it. I'm fine."

"Shut up and close your eyes," Kagome laughed, lying him down on the backseat, his head in her lap. He looked up at her and cheerfully complied. He liked this feeling, of being safe, protected and fussed over. He closed his eyes and smiled, feeling like a spoiled child.

* * *

"We'll have to take Inuyasha back to your house. I can't stay… I leave him to you, got that? I'm putting my _best friend_ in your care." Miroku said in an admonishing tone. 

"Wha-?" she'd expected some help on his part. "Why? Where are you going?"

"I have an important meeting that I have to attend with my dad."

She shot him a scathing look that told him that that was a lame made-up excuse.

"No, I'm serious!" he said, parking the car. "Haven't you ever heard of the Hamakura Tech. empire?"

"Yeah. So?"

He turned around and extended a hand to her from the driver's seat. "Miroku Hamakura, nice to meet you."

Kagome slid her hand into his without missing a beat and said mockingly, "Kagome Higurashi, young master, so very pleased to make your acquaintance." Her fake English accent suggested that she didn't believe him at all.

"What-? I'm serious!" Miroku protested, scowling as he withdrew his hand. "We're negotiating with the Microsoft branch in France about upcoming financial transactions between us. I'm the only one in my family fluent in French, or else I'd skip the entire extravaganza!"

Kagome sighed. He sounded genuinely offended that she wouldn't believe him. "Okay, fine, fine. It doesn't matter. You'll have to help me get Inuyasha up to my apartment then. I… I think I'll be able to take it from there. You _must _be on 24/7 standby though, should I ever need to call you for back up or assistance, y'hear?" she gave him a stern look.

"Of course," he said, as if merely stating a fact. "I'll be back in a few hours, so don't worry… you just behave yourself until then."

* * *

Kagome led Inuyasha to sit down slowly in her bed, letting him lean back against the pillows she propped up behind him. He tried to straighten up into a more comfortable position, but he winced, clutching his stomach. Kagome helped him settle back into the pillows, and she sat down at the edge of the bed. Placing a hand on his stomach, she pressed down gently at different points to check his reaction. God, she could feel the hard muscles of his abs. She tried not to get distracted. "I think you have three or four cracked ribs," she said, after a moment's brief examination. "Did they-?" 

"Hmmm? Oh, yeah. Two guys held me back and a third decked me a few times in the gut. Think it rather amused them." He said it with a wholly unconcerned air as if he hadn't been on the receiving end of it, as if he was used to this kind of treatment. "I'm okay, it's not the first time. I'll heal quick…" Harsh childhood memories flashed across his mind.

She was struck with just how lonely he looked. After a moment's hesitation, she hugged him to her. Tightly. To convince him that she was there and that she would make everything alright.

He looked up at her questioningly, "Kagome…?"

"Don't be lonely anymore, Inuyasha. You're not alone. You've got me."

He looked away. "Lonely?" he asked quietly, "Don't use such a repulsive term. I don't… I don't get lonely." His eyes held a self-contempt at exposing his weakness.

_I thought I'd hid it so well?_

But in her embrace… for once, for the first time in his life… he didn't feel alone.

* * *

"You should sleep," Kagome chided him after a while. "We don't know when the poison will come into effect again, so you should rest up before then." 

"I'm fine."

"I'll make you something good to eat if you do," she coaxed. Inuyasha frowned, but finally lay back obediently. Kagome was about to get up and head off towards the kitchen when the hanyou caught her wrist. She turned around to look back at him. He looked embarrassed, as if not quite knowing how to express himself. "… Thank you," he whispered finally.

She laughed, sitting back down beside him, "For what?"

_For being my sanctuary in the torture of Purgatory. _

Because Purgatory was where he was headed, he could feel the next surge of poison rippling through him, the pain returning. He closed his eyes preparing for the onslaught. This was where he'd have to redeem himself to break out of the gates of Hell.

If he made it through this, he'd get out of his delinquent lifestyle. He'd change. He'd start over.

If he was able to redeem himself, then maybe, just maybe, he might be allowed into Heaven, where his angel was waiting for him.

Then maybe, just maybe, there would be a miracle, and the angel and the demon could be together.

* * *

The second bout was finally over, and Inuyasha had stopped thrashing. The all-consuming pain that'd attempted to destroy his sanity had stopped. He was sleeping peacefully. 

Kagome had never felt so helpless. There was nothing she could do but hold his hand and pray that he'd be alright. His temperature had shot up during the ordeal, his bangs plastered against his face with sweat. His temperature still remained elevated at 103°.

Kagome ran the towel under cold water and wrung it out. Coming back to Inuyasha's side, she dabbed at his face a little before folding the towel and placing it over his forehead. He stirred fretfully for a moment, one hand moving out from underneath the covers. Kagome put her hand in his and he quieted down again, seemingly placated.

She felt her cell phone vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans, and with an apologetic squeeze, she let go of the hanyou's hand to take the call outside.

"Miroku?"

"I got it, I know what they injected him with. I ran a sample of Inuyasha's blood through the GC/MS spectrography machine."

Kagome waited, and when he didn't elaborate, the dread in her stomach intensified. "And?" she prompted quietly.

"Inuyasha should honestly be dead by now," the answer sounded callous. "But, I know for a fact that he's not. Not- not yet. And we can save him. He'll be fine. He was injected with a neurotoxin extracted from Black Widows. That's 14 times more toxic than rattlesnake venom!" Miroku sounded shaken at the thought. "I can pick up the anti-venom though. The antidote is specifically for combat against Latrodectus Mactans, and if he can get 60 milligrams in him, he'll be fine."

Kagome let out her breath without realizing she'd been holding it. "So he'll be okay?" she wanted to hear those blessed words again.

"He'll be okay," Miroku assured her.

* * *

"… Inuyasha? Inuyasha?" he wouldn't wake. She looked at the list of the poison's effects that Miroku had printed out for her and her eyes shuddered to a stop at the words 'coma'. 

Miroku stole in front of her, clasping Inuyasha's hand, no doubt thinking the same thing. They'd been so close."You gotta wake up, man… " He begged. "Inuyasha Ishikawa, goddamn answer me-!"

They had to have Inuyasha awake in order to give him the Latrodectus Mactans solution, which at this point had to be drunk because if they injected it directly into his bloodstream, the sudden dose of antibodies would kill him.

_But if he didn't wake…_

* * *

_Get up, Inuyasha. Get up, you weak bastard, _Inuyasha moaned at himself. He could hear them, he could hear their pleas. But his body wouldn't obey. He didn't have the strength anymore. His mind was trapped, screaming for them, yet powerless to be heard. He resigned himself to being doomed behind the gates of Hell. It was fitting, he told himself. He was a demon, and that's where he was supposed to stay…

* * *

She was not going to let him die. Angry tears burned in her eyes, but she swiped them away. Uncorking the small vial, she held it to her own lips. The liquid tasted sweet with a faint bitter aftertaste. _Like Inuyasha, _she thought, _sweet but with a faded bitterness… _Miroku immediately moved out of the way when he saw what she was about to do. 

Tilting Inuyasha's head up slightly, she kissed him full on the mouth and allowed the liquid to spill from her own into his. _Farewell would be bittersweet as well, _she thought, but it was not an idea she was about to accept.

_Like Juliet had said to her Romeo, parting is such sweet sorrow._

Well, there was going to be no sorrow, because her and her Romeo were not going to be parted.

* * *

His eyes opened weakly and he took his first gulp of life. It was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. 

After a few moments, he kissed her back. It was shy and gentle, but it was a fiery promise that burned sweet against her lips. He'd kept the first promise he'd made to her, and he, by all means, intended to keep the second.

* * *

Yep. You know what time it is. Do I even need to say it anymore? 

PARODY:

"You should sleep," Kagome chided him after a while. "We don't know when the poison will come into effect again, so you should rest up before then."

"I'm fine."

"I'll make you something good to eat if you- OMGAWD. Inuyasha... I don't mean to - er _- alarm _you or anything, but, um, th-there's a spider crawling up your-"

"AAAAAAAAH!!" Inuyasha jumped up, hopping about frantically. "WHERE!?!? OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" he waved his arms around madly.

"GET IT!" Kagome yelled, pulled into his state of panic as well, "YOU'RE THE GUY-"

"AAAAAH!

"AAHH!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

"DO IT! BE A MAN-! SUCK IT UP! RUB SOME DIRT ON IT-"

"RUB SOME DIRT ON WHAT? _ME OR THE SPIDER???"_

"I DON'T KNOW!! BOTH OF YOU WHILE YOU'RE AT IT! I HEARD AMANDA BYNES YELL THAT AT CHANNING TATUM IN 'SHE'S THE MAN'-"

"Oh, was Channing Tatum the hot one?"

"The really sexy one?"

"The really sexy hot one."

"Yeah."

"AAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

"GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY!"

"Wait- INUYASHA, I THOUGHT YOU HAD BROKEN RIBS AND WERE IN A LOT OF PAIN??" Kagome asked loudly, watching him prance and frolick hither thither.

"I- er... Yes. Yes, I am. Lots of pain. Yes." Inuyasha muttered in late realization, immediately trying to lower his voice to a graver volume in hopes of being more convincing. He tried giving her a vixenly expression to distract her whilst he tried to salvage his pride. "Pain. Lots of- yes... Uh-huh. Please excuse me while I go lie down. I'm in lots of pain, you see..." He gestured to the bed with a vague wave of his hand and wandered off in the other direction despondently.

* * *

For those of you who've seen the movie (BEST MOVIE EVER, btw), you'll immediately know what scene I'm referring to. Definitely one of the funniest things ever... I spent (swear to God, Emily can attest to this) hours laughing hysterically and just generally rolling around on the floor and having a fit. 

Think I might have inhaled a bug at some point... --;

* * *

And, here, peeps is a PREVIEW FOR NEXT CHAPTER!! Yaaaay! And, yes, muahahahaha, it is supposed to alarm you. XD. 

"Oh my God, I just killed the infamous Kagome Higurashi!" Inuyasha announced in a triumphent whisper.

* * *

Oh no. Oh dear. Oh, this cannot be good. Please review, my lovelies! Not updating till I hit 75 (Yes, I'm obsessed, I'm sorry. It's so addicting! It's so hard to control the impulse!! -sighs-) Thanks, peeps! XD. 


	6. Purification

**Chapter Six: ****Purification **

Hi, everyone! I am SO dreadfully sorry that I haven't updated before this. I've been on vay-k in Hawaii for ages. Lovely hula boys. Mmmm. XD. I lent my friend the laptop for him to use during the duration of my trip and half of my things have been messed up or have disappeared (darn you, Chris) and so I had to rewrite most of this chapter, that which I was previously almost done with.

-sighs- Yes, the tragedy that is my miserable existence.

Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to Woven Bamboo Pattern, Tsuki Niji Hime, xXKimiko SakakiXx and Susie Cab and Painted Canvas again. I just love you all too much. Sorry. XDDD.

Anyways his chapter is kinda more of a go-between for the next chapter, so I'm more or less just establishing the basis of their relationship and how they act around each other. Boring, I know, I'm sorry!! I DEFINITELY promise you the next one will be _much _more eventful though. -smirk.wink.wink.hint- And I'm introducing Kikyou into this chapter too. Muahaha. Kikyou-haters, unite!

PS: The coach's name has been changed from Bankotsu to Totousai, btw. I'm thinking I can put Bankotsu for a much cooler character later on perhaps, so just a little heads-up on the switch there.

PPS: I LOVE YOU ALL.

Okay, I will go away now.

* * *

Much to Inuyasha's consternation, he was sentenced to (by Miroku) to endow his persons no further than the confines of the bed and to venture beyond it no more than the allotted number of steps deemed necessary by Kagome. Reasoning that the restriction on activity would be like going cold turkey on a nasty habit for Inuyasha, Kagome felt obligated to repress the side-effects by entertaining him. Going from running at least 5 miles a day to total bed-rest would lead to major withdrawal symptoms, wouldn't it? The thought was amusing.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stay on your end of the bed! Stop trying to sneak over here and see where I'm situating my Protoss army!" Inuyasha waved her back with a sinister grin. Kagome drew back, glowering at him.

They were each perched on one end of the bed, each holed up in front of a laptop. One of the computers was Kagome's and the others was Sango's, the latter having left it there a few days ago when she'd been over to work on a project. Her and Inuyasha were going head to head in a battle on Starcraft, an old computer game that Kagome had managed to dig up. Not being one for video games so much these days, she knew they were pretty out of date. Inuyasha had been quite enthusiastic about it after his initial making-fun of her stage had been over though, and apparently had devised an entire strategic offensive which he was waiting to unleash on her.

"Well, my hideous little Zergling-thingys will kill you!!" Kagome scoffed.

"You've shored up your carapace?"

"Up to level 48, baby."

"It'll all be for naught when I attack you with my air forces! Zerglings can't get at flying units! Hahaha…"

Kagome smirked behind her screen. She was totally luring him into a false sense of security by feeding him bogus info. Really, she had a whole herd of Scourge, which were specially targeted towards aerial invaders. _Oh, Inuyasha Ishikawa, the chaos is going to be divine. _

At some point during the beginning of the game, Kagome had rationalized that she should let him win, what with men's ego having the strength of a wet tissue and the fact that he was sick and all. Halfway through though, after a few insults and the constant bickering back and forth, unknowingly she began taking it much more seriously than she intended. Now, she was fully into the game, acting if not more gleeful than Inuyasha.

It was almost like a matter of life and death at this point. For their technologically rendered little characters anyway, if not for themselves.

Inuyasha's encroaching army began descending into her screen, pouring down en masse with unbelievable force. The cluster of Spore Colonies at the edge of her base was destroyed in their wake. And when Kagome saw what exactly was attacking her, her jaw dropped.

They were Dragoons. Hundreds of them. A ground-based unit, they could attack air forces as well. Her Scourge was made for purely aerial combat. She couldn't get at the bastard at all.

He read everything she'd said with perfect clarity and interpreted them with wild accuracy, using the information against her.

He'd known she was tricking him. He'd known and tricked her right back. The entire concept was quite tragic, really.

"Girl, I can hear you pouting over there," Inuyasha laughed, not even looking up from the screen.

Blue lights began flashing about on the screen as her tediously built up base was completely annihilated. She sighed, throwing in a glare at Inuyasha for good measure. He grinned broadly, seemingly satisfied with the outcome.

"Oh my God! I just killed the infamous Kagome Higurashi!" Inuyasha announced in a triumphant whisper, snagging the lid of his laptop shut. The mockery twinkled in his eyes and the good-natured taunt was written in the malicious upward curve of his lips.

"I have decided I don't like you very much," Kagome said airily, snapping the lid of her laptop shut as well, and trying to look supremely unconcerned.

"Oh, but I like you so _very _much." He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. He leaned his cheek against hers and whispered in her ear, "And I would very much like to collect on that bet…"

"What bet?" she asked questioningly.

"The one where you agreed that you'd do anything I wanted… if I were to win…" His words were slow and deliberate and his breath tickled her ear with a deceptive playfulness.

Her face flushed hot. "I- well… at the time, I-I was under the pretense that I… had the… er… advantage… but you took _that _advantage, and now I believe you are trying to take the… _other_ advantage, am I correct?"

"No," he looked rather taken aback at her loquacious query. It _had _been his first thought, but it hadn't been his final decision. He grinned. He hadn't expected her to state it in such accurate terms. "It's the other thing that I was advised against doing." He left the statement open enigmatically.

Kagome looked bemused at the rejection of her hypothesis and incredibly embarrassed at having expressed such impish sentiments in such a brazenly manner. "Well," she said, trying to regain her composure. "By all means, enlighten me."

"Okay, now I know I'm not allowed to move around a lot while I recuperate, but… I want to cook you breakfast. I wanna do something. This," he continued in a more explanatory tone, "will duly uphold your end of the bargain – by you doing anything I want," _Boy, did images explode in his head when she first agreed to that one, _"and just relaxing and letting me cook us something to eat."

Kagome was very charmed by the thought. "Really?" She'd taken him to be like any other male present in society's current population. "That's so sweet!"

He could almost physically see her take back her previous assumption of him. _Don't do it! Don't do it! _His mind argued. _You hit jackpot the first time! You were right… you were _so_ right._ _Of course that's what my mind first jumped to- I am a guy after all. _He suppressed the thought, feeling guilty at accepting her trust so readily, when he'd already betrayed it upon acceptance. "Care for some French toast?" he asked.

* * *

"Here is your coffee," Inuyasha slid the steaming mug in front of her, meticulously turning the handle towards her and prompting her to take a sip.

"Why, thank you," Kagome said, graciously accepting her coffee. This was nice. She felt all spoiled and pampered. Inuyasha bustled away to retrieve the plate of French toast and scrambled eggs to place onto the table. Lowering her lips to the rim of the mug, she tasted the hot creamy blend as its aroma misted with the Moroccan roasted coffee inside her mouth. Damn, it was done just the way she liked it too. Two creams, no sugar.

"How'd you know this was how I liked my coffee?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, sounding rather impressed, "You read my mind."

"Nah. I just pay attention," he said, sitting down across from her with his own mug as well. They clinked their mugs together in a traditional alcoholic ritual, each seemingly drunk off of the other's presence. Inuyasha toasted her with a wicked smile.

As they dug into their food, Kagome wanted to stay within the comfortable conversational confines of pleasantries, but a question kept nagging at the back of her mind. A question almost as forbidden as the continuing of their idle banter.

As Inuyasha took a sip of his coffee – which she noticed that he drank black – Kagome felt around for a more firm grasp on her courage. "So, did you manage to collect the item you went home to find?" she asked, looking into his eyes levelly, even though she winced inwardly, knowing he was probably going to question how she knew…

"Yeah," he said, surprising her by answering with a cheerful briskness. He made no attempt to hide anything from her, and didn't seem to question the fact that she knew.

He reached down into the side pocket stitched into the knee of his jeans. He'd forgotten it was there. Carefully, he pulled out a small tainted pearl; its diminished size and seeming unobtrusiveness led to the false impression of its insignificance. A dark purple light emanated from its cloudy depths, its surface smeared with an oily evil that had smudged out its previous brilliance.

Inuyasha offered it to her for inspection, and Kagome took it with a cautious curiosity, glancing up at him for permission. The moment the Shikon no Tama grazed her fingers however, it pulsed with a reality-shattering beat. Kagome gasped in surprise as, with damning certainty, the darkness bleached out of the little pearl and trickled from her fingers.

The Shikon no Tama shone a pure and translucent white, its soft pink glaze glowed with a new hallowed light.

Inuyasha gaped at her in amazement; he hadn't – he _couldn't _–even _begin_ worrying about finding the protector of the Shikon no Tama… and she'd been with him all along.

He smiled at her. She was the one. In every literal sense possible.

* * *

"I-I'm so sorry!" Kagome sputtered, her shock barely wearing off. She looked half alarmed, half terribly mortified. "I don't know what happened! I don't know what I did- I didn't mean to…"

His chortling startled her out of her dazed reverie.

"W-what?" she asked in a slightly grudging tone, afraid he might have lost it.

The bewildered expression on her face was absolutely priceless. "Kagome, you purified the Shikon no Tama!" he exclaimed as if that explained everything. "You're the destined one."

She gave him a weird look. Wow. His sanity had obviously been shattered upon her contact with the jewel. "Inuyasha. Um. Honey. Why don't you go lie down for a bit…? It'll – er – make you feel better…"

His laughter reached her ears, soft and sweet. "If you lay down _with_ me, I'm sure I'd feel much better," he suggested with a mild grin.

_Yep. He's lost it. _

_Lost it the moment I met you, Kagome. The moment I saw how crazy beautiful you were. _

* * *

The Shikon no Tama was nestled against Kagome's chest, underneath her comfy white cashmere sweater that cut off at the shoulder. It was hooked to an elaborately jeweled clasp that hung on a long golden chain around her neck. He'd finally been able to convince and explain to Kagome about the truth of what he'd said, although she still gave him odd looks from time to time. She was now the sole guardian of the Shikon no Tama; the unknown responsibilities weighed heavily on her.

Inuyasha put his arm around her with a gentle protectiveness as they walked to school. He lugged both their side backpacks on one shoulder, completely disregarding her protests when she'd said she'd carry her own.

It had only been two or three days since Inuyasha's run-in at his apartment, but he had recovered at a remarkable pace and gave no sign of having ever been injured at all, even though his body still carried the deep wounds that had yet to heal. The only outward symptom that he exhibited was a slight favoring of his left shoulder and the fact that he carried their backpacks on his right.

Inuyasha felt preoccupied as he walked; he was having conflicting emotions about Kagome's new situation. Half of him felt happy and just deeply relieved that he no longer had any excuse to keep himself away from her. He would protect her and that was that. Now he had a foolproof reason to be around her all the time. But the other half of him had come to the indisputable conclusion that her possession of the Shikon no Tama would put her in more danger than she would've originally been exposed to. His happiness was weighed down by an immaterial fear, and his apprehension was buoyed by an undeniable delight.

God, he felt so confused.

They entered the schoolyard together, and Kagome felt a slight skepticism at the stares they were getting from a particular group of girls as they ambled towards their classroom. She could hear them whispering and looking at her with either doubt or open dislike. At first she was completely baffled as to the reason behind their bête-noir, but then she finally realized… it was because she was with Inuyasha. She became suddenly absurdly aware of his arm on her shoulder.

Inuyasha didn't notice the twittering crowd of girls staring at him, but he could feel their general curiosity and he looked around with a frown. It puzzled him. He pulled Kagome closer. She smiled up at him, realizing he had no idea of his wicked popularity. Naive boy.

Feeling uncomfortable under the animosity, Kagome made to move away from Inuyasha slightly, hoping to lessen the pressure she felt from a particular senior girl looking at her with extreme hostility. Inuyasha caught the girl's death rays and stepped in front of Kagome, shifting her behind him. He caught Kagome's hand in his and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"You got a problem, Kikyou?" Inuyasha asked her calmly.

The girl looked visibly taken aback, surprised that _the _Inuyasha Ishikawa was addressing her. "H-how do you know my name?" she managed to squeak.

"You've got it written in white-out on the corner of your backpack," Inuyasha pointed out with a shrug.

Kikyou blushed, but apparently took it as a good sign that Inuyasha was observant. She moved closer to him, putting a coy hand against his chest. She completely disregarded Kagome. The latter didn't seem to mind however, and observed the entire situation with a rather amused look.

"If you've got such a keen eye for things," Kikyou breathed suggestively, "Perhaps you might be keen to eye something _else_?" She tipped up the back of her ridiculously short skirt to accent her implications.

"You know…" Inuyasha said with a regretful smile, "I think I've already got my eye on someone else I'm rather keen on." He turned back to Kagome and dabbed his lips to hers for a light kiss. "Sorry."

With a smirk, he led Kagome into their classroom, he hadn't let go of her hand the entire time.

_Man, that felt good._

* * *

-kiss.kiss.hug.hug- Review and I promise you I'll make sure the next chapter is _good. _If y'all know what I mean. -pervy elbow nudge- XD. I shall update as soon as possible! I'm sorry about the previous wait, peeps... I know I'm a terrible person. XDDD. -lol.

And, omgawd, I'm so sorry I forgot about the parodies! I'm sooo sorry! It just- it just- completely slipped my mind! --;. I have no idea what happened?? Right. My utmost and most humble apologies on that front, here is the parody. Sorry!! I love you all, please don't hate me... -ducks flying saucepan-

PARODY:

As Inuyasha took a sip of his coffee – which she noticed that he drank black – Kagome felt around for a more firm grasp on her courage. "Did you manage to collect the item you went home to find?" she asked, looking into his eyes levelly, even though she winced inwardly, knowing he was probably going to question how she knew…

"Yeah!" he said enthusiastically. He pulled out a battered old gameboy. "I couldn't bear the thought of being seperated from my Julia forever..."

"Julia?" (O.O). Kagome looked really weirded out.

"Yeah, that's what I named her," he said, referring to his gameboy. "And plus what with me being almost through with my Pokemon Sapphire game and all... I'm on the Elite Four!" His eyes sparkled madly at the very thought.

"T-the Elite Four?"

"I wanna be, the very best, like no one ever was," Inuyasha began singing loudly, "To catch them is my real test, to train them is my caaaaaause! I will travel across the land, searching far and wide! DUN DUN DUN! Each pokemon to understand, the power that's inside! POKEMON! GOTTA CATCH 'EM AAAALL...!"

There, all better. Hope you guys liked the parody! -.


	7. Sugar and Spice

**Chapter Seven: ****Sugar and Spice**

Hello, my lovelies! Thank you all so much for reviewing in my last chapter. I've been walking around with this scary happy-happy smile plastered on my face for the past few days... It's rather terrifying, or so I'm told. This chapter is quite a bit longer than my previous ones. Yay! You guys have no idea how proud I am of myself. XD. It was done on a much shorter amount of time than usual too. Go me.

This chappie is dedicated to Saikoubi-Megami, who is just adorable, ShadowlessMutt, who is effing awesome, and Woven Bamboo Pattern and Painted Canvas again. -sighs- I have to stop dedicating things to you two. Gosh. Totally spoiling you guys. Oh, and heavens lil cherry too, for being absolutely hilarious. I heart you guys. Hmmm.

Prepare for the mad avalanche of fluff! When your instructor says go, you may proceed with caution. XD.

* * *

The moment they entered their classroom, Kagome was immediately washed away by a wave of her friends. Inuyasha didn't mind, but he let go of her hand rather reluctantly. He headed over to the corner where he saw Miroku waiting for him, lounging in his desk with careless poise. 

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Miroku said in a sing-song voice as Inuyasha neared, not even bothering to look up from his book. "I saw what you did to that poor Kikyou girl outside. You could've been nicer."

"Should I have jumped her and snogged the heck out of her right there, perhaps?" Inuyasha asked, his sarcasm spurred by Miroku's scolding. "That would've been '_nicer_', wouldn't it? Or would you rather have me pour chocolate all over her and commence in some sort of scandalous lick-a-thon? _I don't think so_." The idea itself was pleasant, but its recipient was not. He had a different person in mind for such activities. He couldn't help but smile slightly at that thought. He glanced over at his princess.

"Don't even go there," Miroku said loftily, flipping a page of his book with a yawn.

Inuyasha scowled.

* * *

Kagome was being harassed by her friends for juicy details between her and Inuyasha. Yuka and Eri peeped over at him constantly on the other side of the classroom and even Sango seemed more excited than usual. 

"And now you guys are living _together?_"

"Temporarily," Kagome asserted hastily. She'd given them the sketchy details of the entire story, but had left out many key parts. Naraku and the Shikon no Tama had been conveniently abandoned in her storytelling. "He was hurt that night- what was I supposed to do? And now that his apartment has been trashed, he won't be able to go back for a while-"

"Do your parents know about this?" It was Sango who'd put forth the grim question.

"Uh… No. Not… not yet." Kagome looked sheepish. "I will eventually-?"

"Oh, whatever, Kagome! You are so lucky! Do you have any idea just how gorgeous he is?" Ayumi piped in.

_Oh, yeah. I know. Don't worry._

"He's… decent-looking," she allowed. God, it felt like uttering a sinful falsehood. He was _beyond_ decent-looking, that's for sure. It was blasphemous to associate him with anything less than _God._

"What about his friend over there?" Yuka pointed to the back of the room at Miroku. Sango sniffed loudly in disdain. "He definitely ain't bad lookin' either, if y'all know what I mean." Yuka bounced her eyebrows with a grin.

"Hey, Kagome, Inuyasha's looking at you," Sango whispered suddenly beside her. Kagome's head jerked up. Their eyes met and she bit her lip to suppress a smile. Her prince was so shamelessly handsome that she couldn't bear for the impalpable beauty of her dreamy soap bubble to be broken by the rude contact of some actual circumstance.

The classroom blurred away around them…

_In my world there is just you and me._

_In my world there is just you and me and the stars. _

* * *

The theater door clanged shut behind them. Kagome lifted herself up onto the edge of the stage, Inuyasha boosting her up carefully before swinging up himself. They'd been sent into the school's performing arts center to look for their teacher, Mrs. Kaede's, attendance roster, which she'd left there during morning rehearsals. She was Ryukuo High's theater director. 

Originally, only Kagome had been assigned this particular errand, but Inuyasha had charmingly volunteered to accompany her, insisting she would be in need of some assistance in this terribly strenuous task. Mrs. Kaede had consented. Eri had snickered loudly.

"Hey, Inuyasha, gimme a hand with these boxes," Kagome called from the corner of the stage. She was flipping through a stack of papers she'd found in one of the boxes. Exhausting those, she turned back to rifle through the contents of another box.

"Yeah?" Inuyasha crouched down beside her. They spent a good five minutes, each rummaging through their respectable boxes before Kagome finally muttered, "This is weird. I can't find it."

"Not something every guy wants to hear," Inuyasha joked beside her.

Kagome giggled, "Geez, you're bad, Inuyasha."

Oh, he'd love to just man-handle her. In one swift movement, Inuyasha had Kagome pushed up against the wall, her wrists pinned above her head. _I'll show you bad._ He brought his face close to hers with a sly smile. "No, sweetheart… I'm actually very _very _good."

* * *

Kagome laughed at his invitation and responded with a kiss, soft and sensual. He stroked the back of her neck as he moved closer, deepening the kiss with a dangerous growl. His heart thumped traitorously in his chest. 

Kagome had never felt Inuyasha in such a dominant position before as his mouth moved on her with devastating skill. The friction between their bodies escalated in succulent spirals and she moaned with the subtle pleasure that seemed to tease him into further arousal. He tasted divine, his tongue playing exotic French games with her.

Kagome's Aphroditian scent seduced him with a tempting music, wreaking havoc on whatever resolve Inuyasha'd had to for them to stop. Her lips were like heated silk against his, playing clever tricks on him that taunted all sensation with an even spicier promise.

He pressed kisses down the side of her throat, her hands still trapped above him with one hand, although his grasp was gentle. His other hand was hooked possessively around her waist, pulling her to him. "I must say, you're not bad," she gasped, as his fingers traced sultry circles up against her side.

He finally let her wrists slip from him as he moved his mouth back to hers. Her arms rested easily on his shoulders and she moved her hands up to massage his neck and hair. He nibbled at her lip softly and was panting as he broke away. Inuyasha grinned, "You're pretty good yourself." She liked the rough edge to his voice.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything just yet." Her smile was wicked, like an eldritch goddess. She flipped them over, reversing their positions. Now it was Inuyasha against the wall. He felt amused, but longed for the merciless suspense with a fiery pleasure.

She lavished attention along his jaw line with tiny stinging kisses that brought out a glorious eroticism in him and he tightened his grip on her waist in return, closing his eyes again to enjoy the treatment. He groaned, high off of the undeniable thrill she sent through him. His skin smelled like chilled amber with a mysterious vetiver spice. He could feel his body responding to hers, and he could taste her delicious response back. She arrived with a playful nip at his lips again.

And she gave him such a heart-stopping kiss that everything else disappeared. She stole his breath and gave him her own. He stole her heart, and gave her his own. There was only them, there was only this.

* * *

"What took you guys so long?" Sango asked Kagome later during cooking class. They stood at the counter dicing tomatoes. It was the last period of the day. When Inuyasha and Kagome had gotten back to class some thirty minutes later, Mrs. Kaede had been most suspicious. Kagome's hair had been rumpled and Inuyasha had an unquestionable strawberry at the corner of his jaw. Thank god their elderly teacher seemed not to notice the unmistakable evidence. They'd taken their separate seats. 

"Well… w-we… " She hovered between telling her best friend and keeping the delicious secret. Kagome couldn't help but smile; she could still taste him.

"Oh, don't even bother." Sango sighed; she could more or less read her mind anyway. Kagome was still looking dreamily off into space as she chopped the vegetables. "You really should concentrate when you're handling a knife, Kag-"

"Ouch!" Kagome's knife fell clattering onto the tabletop. She'd sliced open her palm.

Inuyasha ears twitched on the other side of the room.

"Oh my god, Kagome, lemme take a look at that," Sango dropped her own knife and pulled Kagome's hand to her.

"I'm fine," she protested, "It's just a little scratch-"

"You're bleeding onto the counter!"

"Tomato juice!"

Inuyasha scoffed, coming up behind her. "C'mon," he said, "I'll go patch you up. I've already asked Mrs. Midoriko. She says there's a first aid kit in the back room." Kagome looked surprised, (_How the heck had he found out so quick?) _but let him lead her away.

_Wow._ Sango thought, gazing after them. _K-High's legendary bad boy was… Wow._

* * *

Kikyou watched Inuyasha and Kagome disappear into the backroom. Her anger simmered into a barely suppressed fury. She couldn't believe Kagome – the nerve of that girl! _How _dare _she inflict her company on _my _Inuyasha? _She was tempted to try for a finger or two with her own knife to see if Inuyasha would respond in the same fashion. Kikyou suppressed the urge, vowing for revenge on Kagome in its place. The knife's attraction remained just as strong as before, even though the object of its conquest had changed.

* * *

"There. All better," Inuyasha said, as his agile fingers finished taping up the bandage and gauze around Kagome's hand. The wound was deep, but the cut was clean. The fingers on her left hand felt vaguely unattached, although every time she tried to move them they reattached again with a painful jolt up her arm. 

"Thanks," she watched him repack everything back into the small white medicinal box.

"Nah, but I'm gonna run and get you some ice for you to hold onto, okay?"

Kagome followed him as he returned the first-aid kit back onto the shelf. "I'm fine, you don't-"

"I don't want to hear a peep from you," he said sternly.

"But, I-"

"Ah, you're peeping!" he scolded with a laugh before disappearing into the walk-in freezer. The door slid shut behind him.

After a minute or two, when Inuyasha didn't emerge, Kagome grew a little restless and finally decided to venture in after him. Kikyou saw her enter, the heavy metal door snapping shut with a decisive thud.

_Perfect._

Kikyou walked over to the door and reached out, turning the lock. The bolt ground into place. Smirking, she strolled back outside. She heard the final bell ring, dismissing them all from school.

It never occurred to her that Inuyasha was in there as well.

* * *

"Inuyasha?" _God, it was cold in here. _Kagome moved among the metal bar shelving towards Inuyasha. 

"I can't find any ice!" he called. She walked up beside him. "So I'm trying to decide which of these would be a suitable replacement," he said. "Bag of frozen peas?" He offered her the frosty plastic bag.

"This is fine," she took it and let it press against her palm. The annoying throb numbed. Not the intended use of his peas the Green Giant would have hoped for, but good enough.

"Let's get outta here, it's too cold," Inuyasha said, ushering her to the door. He grabbed the handle and pushed, ready to dispel the chill with a rush of warm air.

Nothing happened. The door didn't budge. _No way. _Dread flooded into him and his stomach sank. He jiggled the handle and shook the door. _This could not be happening._

He looked over at Kagome. Their eyes met and he knew that they were thinking the exact same thing.

_No way._

* * *

After a few minutes they exhausted themselves yelling and pounding at the virtually sound-proof metal wall. They heard the bell ring, a far-off tinnying sound. School was over. The immediate clamor of students rushing off school premises to more tasteful activities was immense. There was no way they'd be heard. 

"That's it," Kagome said, her panic pushing her to be unreasonable, "Inuyasha, break down that door!"

"I would, but I bruise like a peach."

She sighed. They both knew it was impossible. Not that Inuyasha didn't try - he spent the next 10 minutes hurling himself at the door in a vain effort. Kagome stopped him, not wanting him to reawaken any previous injuries.

They now sat huddled together against the back wall. Inuyasha had his black hoodie jacket draped around Kagome.

"Cold?"

"No." _I can't feel my feet. _"You?"

"No." _I'm going van Gogh, my ears are falling off._

They were both total liars and they both knew it.

"It'll be alright," he gave her a reassuring kiss on the mouth. She smiled, her lips still felt bruised by his previous attack.

"I know."

He pulled her into his arms so she sat between his legs, her back to him, his arms surrounding her. "And how do you know?"

"'Cause I'm with you."

* * *

They couldn't let themselves fall asleep, or else their body temperature would drop, so they curled together, talking. Inuyasha insisted his first love was Sailor Moon, Kagome professing her childhood dream to be a Power Ranger. Inuyasha confessed to having a soft spot for grilled salmon, Kagome to ravioli. They both agreed enthusiastically to pesto salad. They planned out the perfect meal as their stomachs rumbled. There was nothing they could eat that didn't have to be defrosted first, and being quartered in a room several degrees below zero, anything thawing out was a mathematical improbability. They went hungry. It was 6:30 pm. 

The fatigue began showing in their voices as time went past, and their teeth began to chatter slightly. It was more noticeable in Kagome than Inuyasha, but only because he tried harder to bite down on it and not let it show. Their voices grew increasingly softer, seemingly suitable for their gradual change to more sensitive topics, but in actuality due to nothing more than their continued exposure to the unnatural cold. Inuyasha told her about his mom, who had died when he was 5. He had never known his father, who had died before he could remember. He was fine alone. Inuyasha had never known a complete family; he and his mom had been happy, but their time together had been far too short, and now it seemed like far too long ago.

Kagome told him about her family in turn – Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Souta. With a guilty pang, Kagome realized just how blessed she was having a complete set of family members, if not more. Inuyasha had no one. The thought seemed to hurt her more than it did Inuyasha. Maybe because he didn't know what he'd been missing, although he could imagine. Kagome's heart ached, and she vowed she'd pay him back ten-fold for everything he'd ever missed.

* * *

It was a bit past midnight, or so Inuyasha's watch said if it hadn't already been frosted into mechanical submission. An hour previously, Inuyasha had started doing push-ups in an attempt to keep warm. He had succeeded briefly, until he got to 52, where he collapsed due to the pain in his shoulder and side festering from still unhealed wounds. 

Kagome couldn't quite make herself move so much, her smaller frame losing heat at a much more rapid pace than his. He wrapped an arm around her to quiet her shivering, trying to soak his heat into her body. They lapsed into silence, Inuyasha giving her a kiss periodically to make sure she was awake. Kagome did the same for him likewise, stroking his cheek to call him back from a doze.

Silently, both of them blamed themselves for their current predicament. Inuyasha thinking if he hadn't taken so long in the freezer when anything he would've picked would have worked just fine. Kagome thinking if she hadn't cut herself in the first place. Neither of them were willing to contemplate the idea of the night being fatal for them.

Their noses stung with every icy breath they took, their lungs numbing with reluctant absorption. They were both getting drowsy. The dizzying cold was destroying their senses, especially Inuyasha's, and it stole all conscious thought. Soon, the darkness became so unbearably overpowering that its welcome shadowed that of the light – the thin meager glow of the single lightbulb in the freezer sad in comparison to the heated power of the darkness. With one last careless thought to whether they'd ever wake up to this world again, they let the soothing darkness surround them, content on living in a world where they heard nothing more than each other's heartbeat.

It was 5:30 am.

* * *

Oooh, sad, isn't it? Hahahaha. I know. I'm such a terrible person. Please read and review!! Not updating till I hit somewhere close to 120! Bit of a lofty goal, I know, but that gives me a bit more time to do my summer homework instead of typing madly on my computer all day trying to come up with the next chapter. -lol. Sorry, guys! I know I'm evil. -is chased down by an angry mob- 

And we all know what time it is...!

PARODY TIME!!

"What took you guys so long?" Sango asked Kagome later during cooking class. They stood at the counter dicing tomatoes. It was the last period of the day.

"Well… w-we… " She hovered between telling her best friend and keeping the delicious secret.

"Oh, don't even bother." Sango sighed, rolling her eyes.

"We dueled with his Yu-Gi-Oh cards!" Kagome blurted out, "And then we totally found some costumes in the theater and started role-playing! Oh, it was such good fun, Sango! He let me be Seto Kaiba!"

"K-kaiba-?"

"Yes, and guess who I made him be?" Kagome asked with an evil grin.

Did she dare ask? "Who?"

"MOKUBA! HAHAHAHAHA..."


	8. Future Blood

**Chapter Eight: ****Future Blood **

I am SOOOOOO sorry. SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRRY!! I know I am a terrible horrible evil human being. I really truly am. Er. Sorry, I mean. Not that I'm truly a terrible horrible evil human being. Although I suppose that assumption might well be true. I know I promised to update when I got to 120, and I didn't. I haven't updated for months. I won't give you guys my lame excuses. I just beg your forgiveness. I truly am sorry.

Okay, again, chapter dedication this time goes to Firei, lauren, Silver-Theif-Maker, Painted Canvas, Susie Cab, heavens lil cherry and xXKimiko SakakiXx, Also especially to Saikoubi-Megami and Woven Bamboo Pattern-chan.

I heart you all and the rest of you fabulous loons who reviewed!!

Ah, and heads up, guys, this will be my last chapter of mad fluff. It's about to get into the plot and go somewhere really bad. I've decided I can't keep doing the cute stuff forever, so I'm taking a much edgier and intense turn to things.

-sighs-

And, yes. Bad things are about to happen. But not in this chapter yet though, so enjoy. I love you all!!

* * *

The first slice of warm air _hurt,_ zapping through the numbness and scraping across his skin. The inevitable foreign shriek accompanying it jerked him out of the darkness with its resonant insistence. The strength to move had long since been iced out of Inuyasha's muscles however, and it was only under adamant self-persuasion that he managed to force his eyes open. In his blurry vision, he could see the god-forsaken door open and taunting, and he could make out Mrs. Midoriko's hysterical yelling issuing from somewhere beside him, although none of the words registered. His mind was swamped with tawdry illusions that confused him. A single thought bit him with a vampiric intent, draining all the blood from him. 

_Kagome._

His panic woke him with a painful fear beating in his chest, every other thought immediately cleared out and forgotten. His alarm was instantly stifled in a douse of relief though when he looked down and found his angel was safe, guarded from harm. His little corner of the world didn't teeter on the brink of disaster.

Abruptly, he noticed the quiet acidic air, magnified by the absence of Mrs. Midoriko's yelling. Their culinary teacher had calmed down somewhat and seemed to be saying something to him quietly as she tried to push him up from behind. Inuyasha couldn't quite manage to string any of her words together, but her soothing tone encouraged him. His body struggled to obey as he forced himself to his feet.

The open door and balmy air beckoned him with a gracious intoxication. He took his first step forward.

* * *

Kagome slowly awoke, lost amidst blurry warm blankets. Her fingers twitched, slowly curling towards her palms as she struggled to move them. A warm hand slipped between her fingers and gave her a gentle squeeze. She looked up questioningly to find Inuyasha sitting on a chair beside her bed, a book propped up on one knee and his right hand in hers. He finished the paragraph he was on before looking up. 

"You're awake," it wasn't a question, but a mild remark. He sounded glad. "How do you feel?"

Her head pounded. "Like Fiona waking up to Shrek." She muttered irritably.

He didn't even bother acting offended. "Least I'm not the donkey," he said cheerfully.

Inuyasha helped her as she tried to sit up, her arms weak and unsympathetic to her pitiful attempts at movement. Kagome leaned back gratefully on the pillow he propped up for her.

Belatedly, she remembered that Inuyasha had been in the same predicament as her. "How are _you _feeling?" she inquired softly, although he looked to have escaped the ordeal entirely unscathed.

Inuyasha paused. He didn't need to make her worry unnecessarily. He was fine now. "Great," he replied earnestly. According to the thermometer, he was running a temperature like Kagome, but he _felt_ fine.

She caught the flicker in his eyes, but didn't call him on it.

Suddenly, Kagome's body went rigid. She felt something that wasn't… supposed to be due for another 2 weeks.

_Oh my god._

She stumbled to the bathroom queasily. Inuyasha got up behind her in alarm, but before he managed to ask her what was wrong, she'd already made it into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

"Kagome?" he called urgently through the door. "What happened? What's the matter?"

She didn't answer for a moment. Finally, she sighed and mutter in a resigned voice. "I just got my period." She sounded sheepish.

Inuyasha flushed to the roots of his hair, his tangible embarrassment on the subject seemed to rival Kagome's. "… Oh." He managed to choke out. Her answer had totally caught him off guard. While he was glad that it wasn't anything more serious… _this _he wasn't quite… _prepared for_. It wasn't like he had a lot of experience in this… general… area. His previous panic dissolved only to be replaced by a new flustered awkwardness.

"I… erm… is there… uh… anything I can do?" he mentally hit himself.

Kagome opened the door, stepping out. He wondered how red his face was. He looked down, afraid she'd see what kind of dumb thoughts he was having.

"I have to go out."

Again, her answer completely threw him. He glanced up at her. _Huh? _His eyebrows bunched. "Why?"

She blushed slightly, but tried to keep her voice light. "I ran out. Of pads." She had the one she was wearing right now, but it was her last one. Her embarrassed smile nearly did him in. Uncalled for thoughts ran through his mind. Inuyasha shook himself, appalled. They were in the middle of a crisis here! How could he even _think_ that??

Kagome carefully directed herself to her closet, searching for her jacket. She was still uneasy on her feet, dizzy and slightly faint. She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead, trying to stem the dull ache in her head. God. She just couldn't get over how stupid the timing was.

She was just about to shrug on her coat when Inuyasha stopped her. He scooped her up and set her back in her bed, tucking the covers securely around her. "I'll go," he didn't look at her, his cheeks getting redder. She could hear the resolve in his uncomfortable voice.

Kagome made to get up again, "It's fine, Inuyasha. You really don't need to put yourself through this…" She couldn't even begin to imagine Inuyasha buying…

"No. I'll do it. You're not feeling well. I… I can-… I can do this." His last sentence seemed to be more for convincing himself than anything.

My god, the willpower that must be going into this offer.

Just as she was about to protest, he gave her a swift kiss on the lips. Deep and urgent, but with an amused afterthought like a sweet jest. She responded unthinkingly, pulling his head down to her as her tongue darted between his lips. Her fingers played languorously down the length of his neckline, a laugh hidden against his mouth. He broke off the kiss, gasping, ending it as suddenly as it had started. A resigned smile. One last kiss that marked red on the side of her neck. He grabbed his coat and disappeared out the door.

* * *

"I – er – you… Well, what I mean is…" he coughed, "Should I get… regular, or… uh… heavy? Or… I dunno," she could hear him fumbling with some packaging on the other end of the phone and his voice dropped awkwardly, "… extra-heavy?" she could imagine him closing his eyes in horror at having said the word. 

Inuyasha Ishikawa was out. Buying feminine products.

He waited impatiently for her to stop laughing, growling at her whenever he imagined he could make himself heard. Finally, Kagome managed to control herself, "Regular will do just fine."

He sounded huffy again. "Tampax or Always?"

"Always."

"I'm never talking to you again after this," he muttered.

She grinned, "I know. Thank you, Inuyasha. Seriously. You're the best."

Kagome heard his quiet self-abasing chuckle. "Yeah, I had better be."

* * *

Two weeks had passed in relative peace, and Kagome had recovered from her cold, returning to school happily with Inuyasha 3 days after. They never learned who it was that had locked them in the freezer, even though Miroku had tried his best to ferret it out. In the end it had been chalked up to machine error, although both Inuyasha and Kagome knew otherwise. 

The afternoon sun filtered through the woven leaves that fanned out in a lush canopy above her. Kagome lay underneath it, reclining against the hill's slope. A book raised to eye-level as she read underneath the shade, waiting for Inuyasha's track practice to be over. A vague scattering of student wandered by her, their numbers dwindling as the hours since school was out grew longer. A cheerful face appeared above her. She smiled, whatever she'd been reading about immediately forgotten.

She tossed a towel and a bottle of Gatorade to him, the customary offering with which she awaited him after practice. He caught it gratefully, stripping off his shirt as he rubbed the sweat off his face with the towel. Kagome winced. His devastating beauty was hard to take without a moment's notice, yet he seemed wholly insensible to his own appearance, and utterly heedless of its effect. The girls who had been chattering behind her had gone silent.

"Shall we go?" he'd pulled on a fresh shirt.

"Yes. Let's." Kagome shoved her book into her backpack and Inuyasha pulled her to her feet, keeping her hand securely in his as he led her off the field. He was worn out today. The coach had made them sprint endlessly for what seemed like the better part of an hour, but the endorphins were running amok, and he felt great.

His good mood was doused almost immediately though. The moment they left school grounds a group of men sidled up to them. The one leading the pack looked pleasant, but his shrewd eyes gave him away.

"You gonna tell us where it is, boy?" the man asked, a charming smile appearing that seemed to excuse his lack of introduction. "Or will we have to ravage you two for it?"

Inuyasha pushed Kagome behind him roughly, and his voice gave away no fear. "Nah. I can take you 4 easily. There'll be no need for you to ravage anything, Bankotsu." He smirked, the cocky curve of his lips gracefully extending an inflammatory challenge.

The man's smile remained in place with careless ease, "I happen to disagree. Because _when_ we do get past you, Inuyasha Ishikawa…" his eyes wandered to Kagome and he laughed, "I might just have myself a new plaything." Inuyasha's throat tightened at the implications, and he backed up, shielding Kagome more fully.

"Now…" Bankotsu murmured softly, "shall we dance?"

* * *

Bankotsu somersaulted suddenly to the right, but Inuyasha didn't move, his eyes following him, but not falling for the trick. The attack came from the three other men. Inuyasha knew it a moment before they moved, and he blocked their first assault easily. He caught one of the men under the chin with a backhanded blow, and he clattered unconscious to the floor, the cement dealing a harsh welcome to his landing. 

The other two circled back, wary, looking to Bankotsu for instruction. At a nod from their leader they sprang forward again. One drew a small knife, a dull ring sounding as it cleared the scabbard. Kagome gasped as Inuyasha caught the blade in one hand, heedless of the consequences, and twisted it, the keen edge cutting deep into his palm. The blade twirled out of his attacker's grasp, and Inuyasha caught it with his good hand. His other was streaming blood that coursed in rivulets down his wrist.

Inuyasha's smile had returned. He flipped the dagger in midair, catching it by its point. At fifteen paces, his aim was good. Bankotsu was standing a bit closer.

The latter saw what he was about to do a second too late. Inuyasha threw the blade. It buried in his shoulder, slicing right through his collarbone.

Bankotsu's eyes widened in surprise as the dagger's impact cut through the muscles and he felt the first pain. He grunted as he pulled it out, the blood seeping out onto his shirt rapidly, staining both cloth and skin a vivid red.

"Alright," Bankotsu's face was perfectly smooth, showing no sign of pain. "We're done for today. I'll come back, when next I find it prudent, Inuyasha. I told Naraku I needed more men." He grinned. "That was a beautiful throw." He beckoned to his lackeys, one of them carrying their unconscious comrade. With that, they took their leave. Whatever blood shed today had been in good sport. A test.

But whatever blood shed in the future, would not.

* * *

Yes, I know. I'm stupid. Really the whole tampon/pad extravagenza was just to amuse myself. XD. Anyways, once I hit 140 I will update IMMEDIATELY. I promise you guys this time. I will have this done and waiting for you. Thanks. I love you peeps! 

PARODY:

[Inuyasha At The Check-Out Stand When He Was Buying Said Feminine Products XDDDDDDD.

Inuyasha sidled into the back of the line, trying to hide the bag of pads in the crook of his elbow. If he covered up the REGULAR part of the lettering, he bared the part that cheerfully claimed "ALWAYS! Ultra Thin." He sighed, electing to proclaim the REGULAR part to the world instead. He shifted his arm.

"Hey, man. Fancy seeing you here," a voice sounded enthusiastically from behind him.

He turned around apprehensively.

_Oh, bloody hell._

"K-Kouga. Ahahaha," Inuyasha laughed nervously. "Er. Yeah. Uh. Hahaha. Fancy - um - seeing you here."

"What'chu got there?" Kouga asked, holding up his bag of apples as if bargaining for Inuyasha's answer.

"Ahahahaha. That's a – ah – very good question. And I'll say…uh… what I'm about to say… vis-à-vis… the…um… following. I – erm – excuse me." Inuyasha swobbled out of line and flung himself into a random isle. Pressing himself against a shelf, he shut his eyes tight and hoped Kouga wouldn't follow him. He didn't.

After a few moments, Inuyasha opened his eyes again and realized where he was.

He was back in the goddamn tampon isle.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

And he'd been pressing himself against a package that said "LeakGuard Core! Ultra-Absorbent Barrier!"

Oh, for the love of God.

10 minutes later, after he had calmed down from his hysterical sobbing fit (5 different attendants had gathered around him at one point to try and comfort him), Inuyasha peeked out towards the check-out lines again.

It seemed safe enough.

Humming the Mission Impossible theme song under his breath, Inuyasha darted out, hiding behind a pile of homoerotic books, and then taking cover behind a stack of People magazine ("Will Brad and Angelina finally split?"). Out of breath, he made it in line. With a sigh of relief, he placed his cursed parcel on the moving belt.

PS: All of this was caught on the security camera.

PPS: It was put on YouTube a day later.


	9. Mortal Destiny

**Chapter Nine: ****Mortal Destiny**

Hey, peeps! Thank you guys for reviewing so quickly, it was amazing, and as promised, I have the next chapter here and ready for you. Alright here are some dedications for inuyashagrl27, iNuQTpIe, K.Higurashi, xXKimiko SakakiXx, Silver-Theif-Maker, shadowflower, stupidshinnyvolvoowner, and of course (AGAIN, gosh) Painted Canvas-sama. I had a lot of fun reading everyone's reviews, they were all fab, and I'll work hard to bring you guys the next chapter. XD. THANK YOU GUYS, I LOVE EVERYONE A TON!!

Alright, I won't blabber on. Have fun with this chapter. -.

PS: Did you guys know there are actually a bunch of really weird clips of guys buying tampons on YouTube? Hahahaha...

Oh, and PPS: Kouga comes in during this chapter, and although nobody in here is specifically demon or non-demon, Kouga has some degree of wolf-blood. And, yes, I did get the imprinting idea from the Twillight series... XD.

Okay, okay. I'll shut up now.

* * *

With a satisfying thud, the arrow hit dead center on the board, buried in the small area of the red bulls-eye circle. Kikyou's eyes narrowed. 

_Goddamn it._

Both her and Kagome were in the archery club and she'd challenged the latter to a contest. The two of them were easily the best in their group, but it'd never been proven who the best actually was. A conclusion seemed to be dawning on the others watching. She caught Kagome's playful grin from the corner of her eye.

Turning, Kikyou passed her eyes over where Inuyasha was watching in the corner. She had to do well today. She had to. Not only to establish her dominance over the others, not only to prove she was better than Kagome, not only because she was a year older, Kagome being a Junior while she was a Senior… But because Inuyasha Ishikawa was watching.

He was watching.

This had to be her glory moment.

Kikyou notched her arrow, took aim, and loosed it. It whistled forward and hit near Kagome's, but more to the left – still on the bull's-eye, but not dead center. It was a minor lapse, but its address to her pride stung.

* * *

Kagome watched, calm and patient. Pulling an arrow out from her quiver, she licked a fingertip to test the wind. Slight breeze coming from her left. That was what had thrown Kikyou off. 

Her adversary's eyes flashed angrily as Kagome walked passed her to take her place. She saw Kikyou's eyes dart to Inuyasha again. With a sigh, Kagome nocked her arrow and pulled back the strings. A melodic curl of wind. A smile. A pierced red target.

She heard the intake of breath from the crowd around her as her arrow, again, hit dead center. Secretly quite pleased with herself, she retreated to allow Kikyou to take her position. The other girl passed her, haughty and proud. A notched arrow. A determined anger. An undeniable ambition.

A pierced red target.

Kikyou's arrow flew true, spiraling between Kagome's two perfect shots. They were competing best out of three. Kagome strode forward to take her last arrow, but there really was no point. She already knew who was going to win, and it wasn't going to be her. She'd decided that already.

With a rueful smile, Kagome aimed for the haystack beside the target board and shot.

* * *

A loud groan escaped the crowd, disbelief and bewilderment painting a verbal question mark. Money exchanged hands. Inuyasha was silent, watching Kagome. She stood graceful, proud and cheerful, effortlessly suffering her self-orchestrated defeat. 

Her _deliberate_ loss. _Why?_

Kikyou's grin easily rivaled that of the Cheshire cat, if not already dislodging the feline from its throne. She shot her arrow, an exultant messenger of her triumph. It hit bulls-eye.

Grinning, Kagome turned to leave, bartering her passage towards Inuyasha. He automatically made his way towards her, easily shifting through the crowd.

He reached her and Kikyou's win dissolved into an unmistakable loss. Both girls saw this irrefutable truth, one with grace, one without.

"Stop, Higurashi!" Kikyou's voiced halted Kagome, but the latter didn't turn back. "Since, I won this match, I demand that you resign from the archery club. I won fair and square over your mediocre attempt at surpassing me. There is no room for your inadequate abilities here. Leave."

An uproar burst from the crowds. Kagome's friends outraged, unobjective onlookers expressing interested concern. Inuyasha grew angry. Kagome's kindness had been flicked back without even a single glance, in which it would have been easily identified. He felt her hand on his arm and bit back his astringent retort. Her fingers shook slightly. She was angry too.

"I'd say my 'mediocre attempt' as you call it, far surpasses_ your_ 'inadequate abilities', don't you think?" Kagome murmured, her back still turned. "But if it's my skill that you question, I suggest you seek something else to doubt, such as your self-control perhaps?" Her mild tone gave away no trace of anger. "But in the meantime, if you so harbor any misgivings about my competence, let me ease those worries."

Kagome pulled an arrow out of her quiver and strung it. Her bow arched back, describing a perfect crescent. Holding the stance seemingly effortlessly, she trusted the crowd to part for her. They did. The murmurings had died down into whispers of awe. She was twice the distance from their allotted location before. With a smile, Kagome closed her eyes and took aim.

A skirling rush.

A wooden bang.

A pierced red target.

Only one arrow remained fixed in the target's center. The other 6, dislodged, clattered to the ground.

"I let you win because you're one year my senior, and I wanted to save you face. You're graduating soon. I have another year. Obviously, my goodwill on this front has been misconstrued and unappreciated it. I withdraw it now, Kikyou Sabari. Forgive me if I may have inconvenienced you."

With that, she left Kikyou standing in the crowd, stunned. Her win? Or Kikyou's win? The crowd had long since drawn its conclusion.

* * *

"So, you're agreeing to join us and assist in operation?" 

"Yes."

"I see… You seemed hesitant when we approached you before. What changed your mind?"

"We're working for the same goal. If you can meet my condition, I can most certainly meet yours." The question was neatly avoided, although the day's incident still burned fresh in her mind. Her humiliation. Her one unfulfilled wish - her covetous wish for him.

"Oh? And your condition is?"

"I'll assist in any way I can to get you the Shikon no Tama, if I can be allowed to retain sole rights within the Company to Inuyasha Ishikawa."

"Done."

"Then it shall be good doing business with you, Naraku Koryusei." Kikyou dipped her head in a slight bow and turned to leave.

"… However," the word beckoned like a mild enticement from his lips. Kikyo turned back. "I don't believe you would be able to control him." There was a slight mockery in Naraku's voice. He chuckled. "I don't believe you would…"

"No? Well, I trust you to provide me with the drugs that will aid in me in that area then, and any other item that I should find vital to his retainment." My, her calm assurance was refreshing. "That is my prize in the end, Mr. Koryusei. I will work up to it. In the meantime, I will follow your instructions and go through with the first step of the plan."

"Good." He tossed a small packet of white powder onto the table. "Pure dextromethorphan," he explained. It was a disassociative hallucinogenic drug. "You know what to do with it, I assume?"

Kikyou pocketed the bag and her smile gave no answer, yet all the answer in the world.

* * *

He felt it. The first moment when her sphere of presence touched his. In one instant soul-shattering flash of recognition, Kouga knew – he knew she was the one. They'd never met before, yes, but in this second, his life ended and started anew. He could feel his mortal destiny just as sure as the wolf blood that ran in his veins. What was this undeniable imprint he felt for this girl of blue-black curls? Who was she, to fascinate him so? 

How was she doing this?

And why was this happening?

* * *

Kagome turned to catch a pair of blue blue eyes gazing at her with startling intensity. No excuse, explanation or apology was offered when she met his eyes. Just a terrible confusion. And beyond that, a terrible desire. 

In three steps, he had her pushed up against the wall, his face close to hers. "What are you doing?" Kagome gasped, struggling to push him away. "_Who are you?_" His arms didn't yield to her futile attempts at escape; he didn't even seem to notice.

As she fought to get out of the circle of his arms, he steered her forcibly into the seclusion of a dark corner. It was lunch hour right now, and most people had already disappeared into the cafeteria. Panicking, Kagome tried to cry out for help, but the moment she tried, he caught her plea in his mouth and kissed her full on the lips. He pinned her to the wall with his body. A single tear slid down her cheek as her freedom slipped away.

* * *

With a choking gasp, she felt the suffocating pressure released and the boy's harsh presence being jerked away. Her knees were weak and she grasped at the edge of a locker to try and keep herself upright. An arm slid around her waist, supporting her. Inuyasha's angry gaze was trained on the other boy, but he pulled her into his arms and let her bury her face in his chest. He rubbed her back gently, not knowing what other comfort there was to give. 

"Kouga…"

"Inuyasha," the other acknowledged, rubbing his jaw where he'd been punched. He looked amused.

His voice was quiet. So deadly quiet. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Establishing my dominance over someone who should be mine."

Inuyasha paled, his disbelief surpassed only by his doubling fury. The tension in his body was palpable. "You… you were… one of my best friends," the betrayal was reflected in his eyes. His tone changed abruptly, cold and emotionless now. Whatever friendship the two had once shared had been shattered. Shattered by Kouga's betrayal. "What about Ayame?" the words were spat venomously.

"What I feel here… for that girl," he nodded at Kagome, "I don't understand it. I don't know what it is, but it's beyond anything I've ever felt in comparison. Ayame…" the name was murmured helplessly, "there's nothing I can do." His wolf blood was calling for this girl, this girl of blue-black curls. The desire, the possessiveness, the lust and dominance he felt and wanted to feel, all of it stemmed from this one girl, whose one look had turned his world upside down.

* * *

Inuyasha could still feel Kagome trembling against him, and he hugged her tightly to him. He'd seen Kouga push some girl into the corner, and he'd seen her struggle against him, but it wasn't until Kagome's mental cry for him that he realized what Kouga was doing. What he was doing to _his _Kagome. 

He stroked her hair, murmuring _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry _a thousand times in his head.

* * *

"Would you please let go of her?" Kouga asked, patiently. 

Inuyasha's grip tightened. "Are you trying to give me orders?"

"If you'd listen, then yes," Kouga smirked, "what gives you the right to hold her like that, anyway, when she fought so hard against me?" His last question let slip his curiosity, and the resentful bitterness in his voice grew more pronounced.

"Since I'm her boyfriend, dipshit."

Inuyasha saw Kouga's face freeze, and then a growl rip from his throat, without a warning, the latter lunged. Pushing Kagome out of the way, he caught Kouga with a blow to the stomach, before he was pushed into the lockers with a loud metallic slam. They'd once been sworn brothers, but now they were foresworn enemies. Inuyasha saw Kouga's fist coming towards his head, and he ducked, hearing a satisfying bang as Kouga's fist made contact with cold steel. Baring his teeth in a savage grin, Inuyasha let his anger go.

* * *

"Stop! _Stop!" _Kagome's voice cut through the red haze that obscured Inuyasha's sight. He felt her pull him up and place herself in front of him, between him and Kouga. 

"No, get out of the way," Inuyasha muttered, trying to move in front of her to shield her against any unexpected blows. Her position was dangerous. He couldn't let her do this. He caught the look with which Kouga's eyes followed Kagome. The red fog began to return. "I'm going to kill him."

"_Please, stop," _she begged him. She couldn't watch them tearing each other apart over her. She couldn't let them do this. "You two were best friends," she whispered. "It's okay, just let it go. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it…" The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she'd said the wrong thing. Inuyasha's anger towards Kouga was suddenly directed at her.

"Are you _honestly_ protecting him after what he did to you?"

"That's not what I meant-"

Inuyasha suddenly paled. "You… you enjoyed it, didn't you? The kiss." His voice shook, "Tell me," he strengthened his resolve to hear her answer, "do you like him more than you do me then?"

"_WHAT?_" Kagome's furious gaze lent a few extra octaves to her voice, "Inuyasha, are you _crazy_? How could you even _say_ that?" His unjustifiable accusation stung.

Inuyasha's childish jealousy flared, "Then answer the question!"

"If you don't already know the answer, then I'm afraid you're just going to doubt mine." She turned away.

And the words she threw down before she left pierced him straight through the heart: "I can't believe I fell in love with someone so stupid."

* * *

Inuyasha sat alone at the bar – alone and completely drunk. He'd drank to drown out the worries, he'd drank to find the answer, and he'd drank to relieve the unexplainable feeling of loss that beat deep in his chest. 

She'd said she loved him.

Why hadn't he called her back? Why had he just stood there?

He kept trying to think of different ways to go home and apologize, but he could never seem to get past, "_I'm sorry, I'm an idiot,_" in his head. He downed the last of his beer and ordered for another one. The bartender had one ready for him. Inuyasha closed his eyes and leaned his head against the edge of the table, willing for his mind to clear and for the world to stop spinning. He didn't notice a pair of eyes watching him, waiting, patience for him and him alone. Inuyasha sat up with a heavy sigh, rubbing his face. He never saw the circle of white powder smudged on the rim of his bottle as he took a fatal pull on his beer. Pure dextromethorphan.

_I love you too, Kagome, _he thought miserably, _I love you too. _

* * *

His world raged around him… The floor replaced the sky, the sky dissolved into the earth… The colors blurred together, a mesh of purples, blues, reds, yellows, whites… then blackness. The lights receded than flared with a blinding intensity, then faded again… He could hear his breathing, too loud in his ears, yet suddenly too quiet, as if he weren't breathing at all… 

He could feel the soft creak of a mattress beneath him, and lips kissing his, then trailing down his bare chest…

A soft voice in his ear, whispering to him…

_Kagome?_

Relief flooded him through his poisoned illusions, he felt himself kissing her back. All was forgiven, all was forgotten.

His eager response was answered with teasing laughter, but his response was returned in kind. The kiss grew deeper, their connection longer, their touch more urgent. The drugs pulsed in his blood, the alcohol coursed in his veins. He was lost in a dangerous game, a deceptive falsehood - wrong, borrowed and fake.

* * *

"Where is the Shikon no Tama, Inuyasha?" Kikyou inquired between gasps, her lips beckoning, his answer dissolved on the tip of her tongue. She pressed herself closer to him, knowing she'd have to draw out the answer. "Where?" 

"Where?" He repeated her question, his confusion evident, his mind unable to understand the scope of the word. The drugs beat at his mind, his vision shifting, the colors alternating anew, pastel shades of intoxication…

The face above him seemed no longer like Kagome's… The idea passed as he felt her kissing the hollow of his throat, and nothing else came to mind…

"The Shikon no Tama?" she prompted again, gently, teasingly.

"It's on you…" the answer was given without thought, his graceful visage so careless, so beautiful. The sky swirled… his breathing was loud in his ears again... "Around your neck."

"And who am I?"

"Kagome."

* * *

His answer to her identity and the location of the Shikon no Tama had marred her triumph, but the urgent message had been relayed. With the location compromised, Kagome Higurashi was too. Kikyou smiled in satisfaction. She would have Inuyasha. Kagome may have his heart, but she would find a way to have him mind, body and soul. She snapped her cell phone shut and walked back towards the bed. 

But amid the rumpled bedcovers, Inuyasha had disappeared.

* * *

Yes, I know I'm a terrible person. Poor stupid drunk boy. XD. It's gonna get worse though, I think... Anyways, so please review!! And also, I have a choice for you guys, would you rather me take the path where things get really bad, but has more plot, or would you guys rather me just resolve the issue in a more pleasant way? Alright, review and y'all tell me what'cha think. I update at 165, thanks, peeps! 

PARODY:

Naraku tossed a small packet onto the table. "Pure gummy bears," he explained. It was a an dangerous drug. "You know what to do with it, I assume?"

Kikyou stared at him (OO), "No. Eat it??"

Naraku caught the sarcasm in her voice, "HEY, THESE THINGS ARE VERY ADDICTING, OKAY?" he said, sounding miffed, "Do you know how long I've been trying to break my gummy bear habit? I've been sent to rehab twice!"

"But they're just normal-"

"Don't even say it! You have no idea of their powers! Once you fall under their spell you're never coming back! Do you know how much willpower I am exercising right now not to lunge at that little bag of gummy bears?? A LOT! They're calling to me, I swear! They're saying, 'Naraku... Naraku... Come here, come here to me... I am the secret to your bang-bang powers... you haven't been able to perform since you tried to quit...'. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY TO YOU?!?"


	10. Cephalus to Procris

**Chapter Ten: ****Cephalus to Procris **

Alright, I'm so sorry that this chapter is so late in coming. Anyways, first to talk about it some... BAD things happen. I figure I couldn't go on being so bland about things, but honestly, this was very awkward to write... lol. I tried my best. And here's some side notes on this chappie: Cephalus and Procris are tragic lovers in Ovid's _Metamorphoses._ And I hope everyone knows the story about the Minotaur's maze, right? Ariadne gave Theseus a spool of thread when he went into the maze to kill the Minotaur (to save his country, blah blah blah) and he followed the thread back out after he'd killed the monster. Aight, well, I think that's all you peeps really need to know. Oh, and Inuyasha is still on the drugs, btw. Just a cheerful reminder on that. XD. Have fun darlings!

Dedications to: sesshomaru121, misto-shadow, TearStainedLife, inuyashaluvskagome909, heya-gurl, theruthlesscow, inuyashagrl27 and iNuQTpIe, xXKimiko SakakiXx, Painted Canvas (You four as usual. Gosh.)

I heart you all!!

* * *

Kagome wandered down the street aimlessly, her feet stinging with the unnoticed wear of a thousand steps. The streetlights seemed dim against the collied darkness venting through the cement as dusk fell, and night descended. She hadn't been home yet. Her bag had long since been discarded in her locker and her homework corralled in there with it. And so were her keys. She wondered if Inuyasha was home yet. She wondered if his self-righteous anger had abated with the ascension of her own guilt. 

She wondered if he was thinking of her.

Kagome turned into the familiar consolation of the dark alley where she'd first officially met Inuyasha. The night flashed and his blood seemed fixed on the wall again, she shook her head, dissolving the watery memory. The air was spiced with faint revelation and laced with the residue guilt of her anger. She faulted herself for her harsh reaction to him before, when she knew full well that he was simply trying to protect her. His jealousy had merely meant that he loved her that much more than she knew.

She felt foolish.

They were like Cephalus to Procris, but instead crossing their own stars in search of true star-crossed love. Kagome looked up at the stars, linking Xs and Os felt only by the chaste moon.

She wondered…

Were they cursed lovers doomed to a tragic love?

Like Cephalus and Procris? Like Romeo and Juliet? Like double cherries joined only in partition, together as one, forever as two, separated with only a broken stem. She hoped he wasn't still mad at her. She would apologize and then hopefully they could right their Xs and Os with hugs and kisses.

Kagome turned onto the main street a few blocks from her apartment, leaving behind the alley shortcut at the corner. She neared the empty construction site where a major housing project was being established. The heavy metal framework was silhouetted against the sky, jet against musty black. Kagome glanced into the courtyard as she passed by the construction site entrance, but all she could see was a pair of hands groping towards her in the darkness.

A single scream rent the air… and then was abruptly cut short.

* * *

His breathing was too loud in his ears again, every breath burned, surrendering all other sounds. It was all he could hear. Chaos' steady heartbeat pulsed in his head, purple enchantments scripting into poisoned darkness. 

Inuyasha struggled towards the next streetlamp, stumbling towards the hot circle of light. His lighthouse. A trail of fireflies behind him…

He had to do this. He had to go home.

There had been an exact minute of lucidity when he'd felt the difference, in taste, touch and kiss. Then had come the dreaded realization…

… This wasn't Kagome.

Somehow he'd gotten himself out of there. He couldn't really remember how. His memory echoed white Italian tiles, bed sheets layering onto the floor as they fell… like folded batter… An overturned glass. Slippers, a forgotten tube of lipstick on the floor… The beer bottle that had marked his betrayal… And strange to think he recalled a phone number, hastily scrawled on a slip of paper, lying on the bedside table…

253… 89…5…

He entered the motherly golden glow of the streetlight, glancing feverishly at the next one, his next excruciating target. He felt as if he was following the loose thread of his sanity through the Minotaur's fantastic maze. As Ariadne had held the spool for Theseus, guiding him, so did Kagome for him… His steps blurred falteringly.

_Weird… Why was the ground… rushing up towards… him…?..._

* * *

Her voice had been stolen along with the Shikon no Tama looped around her neck. In its place a tight gold chain encircled her collar, symbols written into the links that rendered her throat barren and mute. The moment Bankotsu had grabbed the Shikon no Tama he had had the power to cast the charm, and now… he possessed both the power and her silence, 2 in 1. 

And now…

"Oh, I always thought you were the prettiest little thing. Don't you think you'd make a great love toy?" Bankotsu trailed a finger delicately along her cheek and then dropped his hand to caress her neckline; she flinched away. She tried to fight down the terror that only seemed to amplify with each attempt.

"No?" Kagome could hear the good-natured amusement in his voice. He began coaxing the buttons open on her shirt, slowly, agonizingly, with unerring patience. Fear short-circuited through her in bone-jarring shocks. There was nothing she could do. Her hands were tied behind her, and Bankotsu had already destroyed her voice. All her screams died as thoughts in her mind. She was trapped in a deserted construction site with no one to hear her silence.

Kagome struggled violently, desperately trying to escape, to _wake up_, to do something, anything. But he was stronger, much stronger. And in the secluded night… no one would find her.

A cold breeze blew by and Kagome's skin prickled and it was only then that she realized what Bankotsu had already done. He'd taken off all her clothes. She was completely naked. Kagome felt angry at her own helplessness, forcing to submit to her own violation.

Bankotsu's presence pulled back briefly and she was suddenly blinded by a bright flash, white against the dirty night. She heard the mechanical whirr of a camera.

_No…_

"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart, that nude shot's just for insurance," she felt him place a second necklace around her neck, something dangling on a long fine chain. "You and I both know that it's a fake Shikon no Tama," he explained gently in her ear, "But Inuyasha doesn't… so… if he were ever to somehow _find out…_ Well, we've got an inside source at your school who would be more than willing to divulge your picture throughout Ryukuo High. And who knows… Maybe Inuyasha might see it too." These last words were breathed maliciously, like a comforting threat. Kagome choked back a wordless sob. The unbearable humiliation leaking into her life to stain every day of her future and her name forever labeled as soiled and damaged goods.

_Inuyasha, I'm so sorry…_

"Now," Bankotsu laughed softly, "Where were we?" He drew a careful line down between her bare breasts to her belly button, she gasped. He paused, smiling indulgently, then his hand ventured further down… "It's too bad you can't talk, or else I would've loved to hear you crying my name."

A lot of tears fell that night, and her innocence dissolved as they hit the ground.

* * *

"Kouga! Toss me a damn hardhat!" 

"No!" Kouga yelled, as he tossed it to him. Laughter rang about him as the group of them got ready for work. He'd been working at the construction site for a while now. He needed the cash – his dad worked all day, but spent all their money on booze that saw him stumbling home drunkenly in the middle of the night. Financially, they were a little strained at the bank account. Their once good father-son relationship had dropped exponentially with the rise of alcohol levels in his father's bloodstream. His mother had abandoned both of them long ago.

He wore his usual uniform of jeans and a white wife-beater, both already dirty with unwashable work stains. It was still early morning though, and his breath frosted in translucent clouds, mingling with the morning mist. He wore a big blue jacket around his shoulders to ward off the morning chill. He'd strip once he'd warmed up.

"Yo, K-O!" That was his work nickname, "See if you can find us some o' these bricks in the back. We're missing 3." A large red brick was abruptly tossed at his head. It might have clobbered him if he hadn't caught it easily enough.

"Yeah, boss." Grumbling, he trudged over towards the back corner of the courtyard, pulling on rough gloves as he searched through the rubble. He pulled out the heavy red brick from his pocket, trying to match it up with its missing family. Nope. He wandered into the next half-completed room, all jagged edges and steel wires.

And then he stopped dead and dropped the brick on his foot.

* * *

His foot was hurting in angry spasms, but he didn't feel it. It took him a split second before he realized what must have happened. Kagome lay there pale and still as death, like a fallen angel. And Kouga was horrified when he felt himself responding to her breathtaking body, bare with an undiminished purity regardless of the transgression last night had performed on her. There was a moment when his wolf-blood flushed against his rapid pulse, and all those strange feelings he'd felt for her before came rushing back. He swallowed his restlessness. Quietly, he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her. Carefully pulling her into his arms, he carried her unobtrusively outside, his sleeping Aphrodite, a goddess mortalized by a cruel twist of fate.

* * *

"Inuyasha? Oy, man, wake up," Miroku shook him with all the lack of gentleness as was entitled to a guy. 

"What…? No…" he buried himself further into his blankets, turning away from the Miroku's voice that seemed to be reverberating thunder in his head. "No… Go… away…" His head hurt with the fierce drumbeat of his pulse. Slowly he opened his eyes, unwillingly.

"You're not even going to thank me for finding you, you ugly punk?" Miroku asked, laughing as he pushed a cup of hot tea into Inuyasha's hand.

"Finding… me…?" Inuyasha took the tea weakly, exercising a superfluous amount of control just to keep it balanced. He failed miserably, slopping some onto his lap. Miroku sat on the side of Inuyasha's bed, careless of the 1000 thread-count Egyptian silk sheets and the tea that stained it. He stared at Inuyasha with blaming eyes.

"What?" Inuyasha muttered irritably. This felt like the worst hangover in the history of the world.

Miroku sighed and just cut to the chase, "Drugs, Inuyasha?"

"No. Why?"

"You're actually going to deny it," Miroku stated disbelievingly. "I won't judge you, Inuyasha! Well, actually I will, but you never seem to care what I think about you anyway, and we've been friends long enough that you should at least have the courtesy to tell me the truth-"

"The truth about _WHAT?_" he was starting to get angry.

Miroku stopped mid-rant. "Oh."

"Oh _what?_" Seriously, if he didn't feel like shit, he would get up and beat the crap out of Miroku himself.

"You don't have just a hangover, Inuyasha. You passed out on the streets last night because someone drugged you."

Streetlamps flashed through his mind. It hadn't even occured to him to question why he was at Miroku's house. They'd been friends for a very long time. Much longer than was healthy. Flashes of his memory came back. A girl, kissing him… a glass of spilled water, lipstick lying forgotten on the floor…

And a phone number. A phone number written in hasty black ballpoint. He struggled to remember… 253… 895… 73…

* * *

Kagome tried to open her eyes, but she closed them again against the onslaught of reality. The gold chain about her neck choked around her. Tears began blotting onto the pillow of their own accord. She felt bruised all over with an unholy filthiness that clung to her skin. The things he'd done to her… she curled into a tighter ball underneath the covers. Suddenly, she felt a hand touch her arm, and she jerked away. _No… no… tell me this is over… tell me this was just a bad dream… _Her sobs pulled dryly at her throat. 

"Shhh… shhhh… It's okay now…" A male voice. She glanced over, stunned. Not Bankotsu.

No, it was Kouga.

She pulled away in a fresh wave of fear. She couldn't suffer through this twice. Would he do what Bankotsu had done to her too? She backed away from him, bumping into the bedpost. Her voice, her godforsaken voice, gone, with no way for her to cry for help.

She was surprised by his agility, and the ferocity of the love she felt from him as he wrapped his arms around her. He was warm and comforting and far gentler than she would have expected possible from him. "I won't hurt you. It's gonna be okay… Don't worry, I'm here for you… " he murmured softly into her hair. Unexpectedly, she believed him, and nodded against his chest. Slowly, he rocked her back and forth, and slowly the pain went away.

* * *

Yes. That was evil. I know. And we all hate Banktsu with a burning passion. lol. I'm trying to make Kouga into a more dynamic character in the next few chapters, but we'll see if he's truly a good guy, yeah? Hope you guys liked the chapter, please read and review!! I update at 190. XD. Luv y'alls! 

PARODY:

"Inuyasha? Oy, man, wake up," Miroku shook him with all the lack of gentleness as was entitled to a guy. "Where were you last night?"

"Huh...?" Inuyasha rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

Miroku sighed and just cut to the chase, "Doughnuts, Inuyasha?"

"No. Why?"

"You're actually going to deny it," Miroku stated disbelievingly. "I won't judge you, Inuyasha! Well, actually I will, but you never seem to care what I think about you anyway, and we've been friends long enough that you should at least have the courtesy to tell me the truth-"

"The truth?" _Oh, no. Miroku knew..._

"I saw you sneaking off! You said you'd broken it off permanently with Homer Simpson! You said it was just one of those celebrity flings, and that what you two had was nothing! I allowed it. I was tolerant of your guys' illicit affair. Both me and poor Marge! And what do I smell on you yesterday as you came home? DOUGHNUTS!"

"No, wait, I can explain... I was thinking of you the entire time, Miroku!"

"Pah, and that's not even it. This has been going on for," he choked up, "much longer than I realized... There is solid evidence. I watched the Simpson's Movie."

Inuyasha gasped.

"You were in there as Duff Man!" Miroku's tears were flowing freely now. "And on the gag reel... They caught you and Homer Simpson...doing it underneath Spider Pig's silo! It's over, Inuyasha. Goodbye."

And Miroku commenced to move to Timbuktu. But did not succeed due to insufficient funding. Ended up moving in with Bill Clinton. Later realized was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher, could not take the joke and killed himself. Bought a llama a day before he died.


	11. Midnight Eclipse

**Chapter Eleven: Midnight Eclipse **

Aight, folks! Dedications to: sofia, Chissel, theruthlesscow, inuyashaluvskagome909, and especially sesshomaru121, Ochibi-chibi, Bill Clinton, xXKimiko SakakiXx and Painted Canvas! (AGAIN?!? SHOCK AND HORROR). Ah, yes. So my rant about the different configurations of the moon and sun and whatnot... I was looking at the covers of the Twilight series, and had a brief moment of inspiration. Hahaha. So credit for that absolutely goes to Stephanie Meyer. XD. Have fun reading, guys!

* * *

Kagome grabbed Kouga's hand as she ventured away from the bed. Her first steps seemed like a gauntlet she was tossing down at society, defiantly, but fearful of the repercussions her boldness might bring. The world – everything – seemed different now and she felt a child's uncertainty. Kouga gripped her hand reassuringly, and led her to sit on the couch. A new experience to her suddenly, foreign and remarkable, a sense of foreboding swelled in her questioning her competence, a feeling of shame already developing as she pictured if she could not. If she could not face the world. 

Two palms, ten fingertips, one connection. Two hands clasped together in one touch, fingers interlocking with all the simplicity and intricacy of two conjoining puzzle pieces. Neither of them were under the single-sidedly wished for illusion that her fingerprints left any sort of romantic impress on his skin. Kouga had finally managed to coax Kagome the few feet from her bed of denial onto the couch of suffering acceptance. They sat together, but apart, the gap between them bridged only by their linked fingers. She grasped his hand for strength. Kouga sat patiently watching the TV that Kagome's gaze didn't seem to see. The smallest gesture bidding towards normalcy seemed to come only after extreme effort for her. There were things she couldn't forget, but there were times when she need to try.

She tried.

The colorful digital haze of the news blurred into white noise that trickled into a gray hush. The impersonal screen tried to trap her with ground-breaking reports on the latest political scandal. She focused her eyes on the shame of another, the thin levity with which the man turned his hands palms-up to accent his innocence. She focused desperately on the screen, willing for her mind to accept his innocence as well as her own. The unimportant anchorman on TV seemed uncomfortable in the unwavering line of her attention, and he cleared his throat awkwardly to announce that the weather reports were coming up. Her concentration faded, diluting into the background as the volume of her surroundings rose gently to correspond with reality. The faintly religious ambience the TV monitor gave off had dulled into a discolored sermon, the preacher himself turning away from failed angels.

Her. Her failure. _God be with you, for her is no longer with me, _she thought miserably, wishing luck on the unsuccessful politician. Yet, the melancholy seemed so natural now, was it only her who experienced it? Or was it a global emotion of which she only partook of the merest amount? Already her mind was wandering, unraveling like her sanity, weakening like her voice that was withering away in the cage of her mind.

She still couldn't talk. Bankotsu's spell did work. Although Kouga had spoken kindly to her, pleading for her to _come back_, she could see the barely-concealed impatience behind his eyes, all masculine tendencies trained to exact revenge, to find her tormentor, to hurt, to hate, to do _something_. To damage him in the same way that he had injured her. She could tell that Kouga wondered if maybe she was holding her tongue out of fear or of her own choice, or if maybe she was protecting somebody. But his questions were met with exasperation, every single question answered, but not heard.

She noticed that he never questioned Inuyasha. How if he had any role in her tragedy, it was only as the sinner who let Juliet die. An anger was felt when Inuyasha's name hung in the air, but she couldn't ask, and he wouldn't answer.

_Inuyasha. _

His name brought back emotions that she didn't dare feel anymore. She couldn't let herself dwell on the moments when… she choked back her breath, pulling herself away. Kagome had replayed it so many times in her head, wishing it wasn't true, searching for the epiphany in that single moment of realization when you are consciously aware of your presence in a dream. It didn't come. All the times she had screamed his name in her head… he didn't come, and she didn't wake.

The fake Shikon no Tama clung to its chain around her neck, the real one stolen away by Bankotsu. Reality returned. Nothing had changed. The dribbling clutter of commercials came back to her, and again she was looking at the TV.

* * *

The keys jangled garishly in Inuyasha's hand as he fumbled for the right grooves and markings that would sing the door locked and unlock it with an opposing tune. He was actually nervous. His ferociously rehearsed speech was worried over with a layer of gauze that blotted out words, and dropped phrases. It was there, underneath, but the space it left was so hard to fill, the words he wanted so hard to find. 

_I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm stupid. I'm sorry. I love you. _Four sentences beginning with I. The keyhole seemed to be doing a parallel dance with his key. He clenched his hand tight to still the slight tremor. Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha located his courage and slotted the key into the keyhole. Closing his eyes, he turned the key; opening them, he pushed the door ajar. It was dark. The room was empty. She wasn't there.

He felt a dull pain in his chest. Inuyasha chuckled sadly. Jesus Christ, was this actual heartache? Only the lonely beat of his own heart answered him.

* * *

Kouga took Kagome for a gentle stroll through the park, an uncharacteristic patience responding to her faltering confidence. His heart bled, their trail marking red. Her silence gave him a soaking anger that dripped from his clothes to mingle with their bloody footsteps. But that was all she could give him. Anger and… and sadness. His heart bled. 

He wondered if she wouldn't let herself speak, or just couldn't bring herself to do it. He wondered what she was thinking; he wondered who the son of a bitch was. He watched her look around at the foreign familiarity of their surroundings, the grass green with a peace she could not obtain. Kagome looked down at their cement path and that night's rough floors flashed across her mind. She shuddered, forcing her eyes away to gaze at the sky. Such a vivid leaf-shadowed blue, as blue as her soul, dying of frostbite within the confines of her body. So blue.

Kouga felt a dull pain in his chest and he chuckled sadly. Jesus Christ, was this actual heartache? Only the lonely beat of his own heart answered him.

* * *

Inuyasha moped around the park, loitering around a bench restlessly. Was she really still that angry with him? Or was it chance that she just wasn't home? It didn't look like she had come home at all though, her backpack missing, and nothing having moved from its previous place. A fork that had been dropped on the floor from breakfast lay angrily on the floor seething at its banishment from the other utensils. He had picked it up, washed it and set it back with its family. Her tube of lip gloss sat on the table on top of the book she was reading, untouched. A half finished pile of laundry assaulted the couch with sheer force of numbers against its bigger opponent. Nothing had changed. He'd called Sango anxious for the verdict and his sentence, thinking that Kagome was with her, but… she wasn't. Neither of them had any idea where Kagome had disappeared to. 

God, all of this for a dumbass fight with that goddamn wolf-mutt. He was back on the park bench again, grumbling as he lay back and looked at the sky. Such a vivid leaf-shadowed blue, as blue as his soul, dying of frostbite within the confines of his body. So blue.

* * *

Kagome spotted him. That gleam of silver hair reclining lazily on a park bench, gazing up at the sky, pondering on a crush that was chemical, electrical and spiritual. Pondering on her. She stopped dead, her breath catching in her throat. She saw him stiffen, and knew it was too late. He knew it was her, standing there behind him, every breath she took, taken for him. 

Inuyasha turned around slowly, his pulse bruising his skin with its staccato raging.

_Go. Before my heart breaks. Go, _Kagome cried.

He pushed himself up, a measured shift of muscle smoothing in complicated rearrangements under his skin. He deliberately disobeyed her order. Inuyasha took a step towards her. She couldn't move, looking at the boy that was Aurora's harbinger to her, heralding her dawn. He was her sunrise.

Then Kouga moved in front of her, unforgotten by only himself. A low growl rumbled in his chest. The spell broke, and she ran. Away from her moon and her sun and the eclipse they created, too bright for words. She ran, turning back the Earth's rotation from dawn back to twilight. She ran, away from the boy that was her midnight sun.

* * *

Kouga threw him a look of deepest disgust, his gaze shot through with loathing, and turned to follow Kagome. 

"Wait," Inuyasha managed to croak out. None of this made sense. He and Kouga stood there, two titans throwing their shadows black, at loss for words. _She was… with Kouga? All this time that she was missing, she was with… Kouga?_ He should chase after her, tell her to come back, beg for… what? Forgiveness, her love, an explanation.

His heart back.

The silence was left unbroken for too long. Kouga turned to go and Inuyasha didn't stop him.

"If she had been with me, this would never have happened," Kouga murmured softly. Inuyasha's ears pricked. _What? _"I blame you. I thought this would have been the one thing you could have done right."

Kouga didn't look back as he walked away, leaving Inuyasha to drown in his footprints. How had everything gone so terribly awry? Inuyasha felt like a lost moon, his planet destroyed in some cataclysmic disaster. But nevertheless, without fail, he continued to circle in a tight little orbit around the empty space, ignoring the laws of gravity. But his planet was gone, and there was only the empty space it left behind. The words _I blame you_ echoed among the antimatter.

_I blame you._

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this? Go to school?" Kouga couldn't keep the unsupportive note of disbelief out of his voice, although he wished he could. Her unconvincing nod did nothing to sooth his frenzied worry and his overwhelming feeling of restlessness. Kagome was wearing one of his sweatshirts and a pair of an old girlfriend's jeans. The sweatshirt was already a bit too small for him, but it still dwarfed her; the sleeves on each side had to be rolled up several times. He'd never realized that she was so small. She nodded again, as if to double her conviction on their venture, but she didn't meet his eyes. It was time, time to face the world. He opened the door for her and they stepped out into the cloudy turquoise atmosphere of the city streets. Kouga took her hand, and although Inuyasha's face flashed across her mind, she didn't object. 

Their brief walk to school was punctuated with the multi-pronged aerial clutter of car horns, shouting, birdsong and breeze. Neither of them spoke, Kouga not knowing what to say and Kagome unable to grasp the ridiculous idea of a conversation. She didn't seem to see anything around her, and was only jolted back to reality by the loud sliding doors of a 7-11 they passed. Never had those doors seemed so loud before and never had the store clerk felt so hostile, his bright smile to her merely a façade, under which he hid a criminal, daylight seeing him masquerading as a sharp and able employee, night seeing him in his other costume. Like Batman, Spiderman and every other man who pretended to be fighting on the side of humanity for good and for justice. She shuddered and unconsciously pressed closer to Kouga. He didn't ask, but kept her within a motherly protection that transcended the homogenized Hallmark and Disney versions of love.

Love? That word seemed to have betrayed her so long ago.

The chased goldwork of the necklace around her neck seemed to tighten, a disdainful threat warning her against ever loving again. Kagome swallowed hard, feeling the physical absence of her voice that the necklace dangled in front of her. It controlled the charm that Bankotsu had used to strip her of her voice, and it was where he'd contained it. Always with her, a provocative taunt, hers to use and sing and laugh with once, now hers to keep silent. The golden collar loosened, but the fearful pressure in her throat did not. They rounded the corner, and the schoolyard slid into sight, the cliff where she would freefall from the unknown, hoping against hope that her parachute wasn't as fucked up as she was.

* * *

"Hey, baby girl, how you been?" Yuka asked enthusiastically, flouncing over to fling her arms around Kagome. _God, I swore I wouldn't cry_, Kagome thought, holding back the tears and giving the other girl a weak smile as she returned her hug. She wanted to feel the relief that came consequently and inevitably from crying into the arms of a loving being that would make everything better. But she couldn't, and she swore she wouldn't let herself. Yuka was not her mother whom she could cry to over scrapes at the knee, petitioning for motherly love and the all-forgiving sympathy that would make the broken skin across her knee seem worthy and of purpose. The utter misfortune of getting hurt lamentable but forgivable if the occasion brought her a band-aid, a kiss and a hug. The maternal admonishment of _"be careful" _heeded and appreciated as the tears would stop and everything would be okay again. Such had it been when she was five. She was no longer five, and at 17, her tripled age did not bring her more compassion, although it would have been readily and freely given had she asked it – had she been able to ask it. 

Kouga had walked her to her classroom and left to find his own, muttering prayers and love-words like a curse. Now Kagome was alone and had to face her life and fend for herself. She stepped into the classroom, and her world spun in reverse, her sun coming back up over the horizon. There he was.

The Garden of Eden is with us still. There he sat, Inuyasha Ishikawa, his one look a sorcerous gift that brought Eden to lie about her.

* * *

Yeah, I suppose not a lot actually happened in this chapter, huh? I got all rambly. Heheheh. Anyways, there will definitely be more action in the next chapter, Miroku and Sango will finally have their moment (I've been hoping to work that in for ages) and... well... we'll see if Inuyasha ever finds out, eh? And his reaction... ooooh, hot dang, that will not be pretty. -lol. 

PARODY TIME?!?

"If she had been with me this would never have happened," Kouga murmured softly. Inuyasha's ears pricked. _What? _"Kagome would never have grown that fungus on her toe. I blame you." Kouga didn't look back as he walked away.

The mushroom had looked vaguely Shiitake-like, although from other angles it resembled Drew Barrymore. Due to the size of Drew, Kagome had been unable to get her right shoe on for the walk. She'd gone with the right foot bare. Although Inuyasha hadn't noticed (he'd been distracted by her third nostril), others (who hadn't been close enough to witness the nostril phenomenon) had taken note, including: two pedestrians, a child (who promptly dissolved into Shiitake-induced tears), a photographer (who snapped a shot of Kagome's foot that would win him the prestigious HUMP! Award), two stalkers and a policeman (who arrested Kagome for disturbing the peace). Scientists later confirmed that this was indeed, " a retarded discovery," as described by Dr. Sh'ni'qqqop'rt, PhD.

Thanks so much for reading, guys!! Oh, and heads up, one reviewer will be awarded the much-sought HUMP! Award... XDD.


	12. Alice in Wonderland

**Chapter Twelve: **Alice in Wonderland

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I loved every single one of themSOOO much. You guys made me so frighteningly happy, I very nearly started crying. This time the dedications goes out to every single one of you, because you are just so effing awesome that there are no words for your greatness! Dedi: emuhleeishazn, Grey Pezzola, hxc muffin, heya-gurl, whitetiger-isabella, inuyashagrl27, iNuQTpIe, Loyalflame, Eyeliner-Vampire, Arrynnand sesshomaru121. Special triple love goes to: Willingly Catatonic, xXKimiko SakakiXx, Painted Canvas, TearStainedLife, LoVe23, inuyashaluvskagome909, theruthlesscow and phlawere! You guys are truly amazing people.

Anyways, Sango and Miroku finally have their moment in this chapter, and I must say I think it turns out quite satisfactory. I was a little nervous about how it might work out, but, I'm pretty happy with it this time. Ah, Miroku, Miroku, Miroku... what do we do with you? XD. And, by the way, Kuranosuke is that one wierd bloke who had a crush on Sango Episode-70-something-ish, right? Totally never saw that episode, I'm pretty sure.-lol.

Oh, and explanations. Um, yeah. So Kagome is now wearinga fake Shikon no Tama to fool Inuyasha, and she's also wearing a charm that makes her tone-deaf. Hahah, j/k. She can't talk and like Inuyasha's beads in the show, she can't take it off. So. Hmm. Yes. Except the whole her-not-talking-at-all thing is kinda hard to work with so, I'm gonna have to do something about that pretty soon. -sighs-

Oh, and Kikyou's gonna be _such _a bitch. I hate her. Urgh. It was so much fun to write.

Alright! Now for the much awaited HUMP! Award ceremony...! -Happy Days theme song plays-

Since there werea fewpeople that I really wanted to give this to, I suppose it'll have to be a dual thing, 'cause I really couldn't decide... DuN DUUUN dUUUUUUn.

Congratulations to inuyashaluvskagome909 with her scrumptious review and Painted Canvas! lol. You get the prestigious HUMP! Award and a 3 coupon to Dairy Queen. XDDDD. Hahaha.

Enjoy. I love you guys all far too much to be healthy.

* * *

The moment they locked eyes, she could feel her heartbeat synchronize to match his, the strange rhythm of their double pulse all the room could hold. The moment they locked eyes, it was all over. One look and Inuyasha was destroying her

_What if he already knew her terrible secret?_ Kagome could easily paint the accusation into his eyes, her imagination capturing the mix of denial and anger shadowing the gold of his gaze. There would be a complex range of emotion, but a specific order to their feeling; accusation, revulsion, distrust and finally the kindness of a gently worded persecution in which he would compassionately state his reasons for not wanting her anymore. The imploring sadness of the words, _"you understand."_

_What if he already knew?_

Kagome dropped her gaze to the floor and slid into her seat, resigning herself to the torture of the next hour, with him so beautiful and so close, but never hers to love again.

* * *

Inuyasha tried so hard to puzzle out the hurt in her eyes. He didn't understand. All of a sudden, there was this inexplicable difference in her that wreaked a sharp contrast with her old self. Her vibrant personality charred into the gray ashes of its mysterious cremation. Her one look nearly brought him to his knees; the ideal position for some top-notch groveling perhaps, but… the slight tremor of her shoulders as she sat two seats in front of him… he didn't think a comical public rendering of his love could help that.

He didn't _understand. What was it _that was killing the both of them so patiently through their connected heartbeats? He twirled his pencil in between his fingers irritably. Inuyasha glanced around the classroom for some sort of a cosmic loophole that could enter into him this obscure knowledge. Inuyasha's gaze moved to the window and its smug showing of a disturbing blue sky, his eyes wandered, two students dozing during lecture, Miroku's eraser on the floor. Then he caught Sango's look, and in that one moment, each informed the other that they knew something was completely off with Kagome, and a brief mental competition ensued over which of them worried the more.

* * *

Kagome could feel his inquiring thoughts wandering around her, each towing along its own wisp of anxiety. The vocal ripples of the bell dispersed them though, as the bell rang signaling the end of the period. She fled the classroom, pretending to herself that she needed to use her locker. She had no idea where her locker was anymore. Stumbling through the hallway full of faces and dreams, today's gossip and tomorrow's tests, she couldn't breathe; the laughter was suffocating her.

Ducking into an empty stairwell, she huddled against the wall, unable to imagine her inescapable hours, days, weeks and months. Terror clambered noisily with the slow ticks of the clock. Each tick counting off another dusty piece of evidence that she was a soiled existence. She couldn't see past her fear of everyone she'd ever loved. Because to her, they were everything, and soon…

Well, it was too late for that – she was already nothing.

* * *

"Kagome?" He looked at the girl hiding her broken heart and damaged soul in a deserted staircase. Her name wasn't uttered as a question, it was a plea.

* * *

She glanced up, startled, and found Inuyasha on both knees in front of her, one hand resting gently on each of her shoulders. He was so close. He watched her in all his godless beauty, pained confusion darkening his beautiful golden gaze. His presence, his touch, his nearness, his unforgivable amber eyes… Her self-control flickered and died like deciduous leaves blushing away in bloody tatters on an autumn tree. Unspeakable tears began falling into her lap, the soft patter of her quiet grief darkening her jeans.

* * *

Inuyasha could feel her pain transcend its mortal confines to lacerate him, piercing him through to the lifewater beneath his skin. He hurt inside with almost twice what Kagome felt… once for him and once for her… and double for what they had once been.

* * *

A strange feeling sheathed itself deep in Kagome's chest, like when earth meets sky and soul meets body, somehow her overwhelming chaos of mind blurred with peace. Her shoulders shook slightly with her repressed sobs as her pride sought to bribe her with stronger resolve to stop crying. Helplessly, the tears continued to darken the stitches of her jeans in mordant blots, patterning it with salt and stained despair. _She couldn't do this – be so near him. She couldn't…_ Kagome felt his pressure on her shoulder tighten, and hesitantly she let her eyes trace up towards his face.

In one familiar movement, Inuyasha had her pressed against him, his arms surrounding her in a fierce embrace - but not before she felt the trembling that he quieted against her, and saw the face he tried to hide.

Inuyasha was crying.

Blinking against his shoulder, Kagome tasted the strange ineptitude of incomprehension. The tangled snarls of memory caught her the brief glimpse of Inuyasha's face before he'd shied away, looking down in self-conscious embarrassment. But the damp line bruising his cheek was clear and unmistakable, her pain his.

She pushed him away. Hard. Paying her in double the amount of hurt in his eyes.

_I'm sorry, Inuyasha. _

She couldn't even say those words to him.

Inuyasha just stood there, his bangs shadowing his eyes, motionless.

Kagome looked at the boy who was her sun, whom she had destroyed in favor of being nocturnal for the rest of her life without his forgiveness.

She turned to leave. Perhaps she could depart to another solar system and journey to an unnamed planet with an erased memory. Tears blurred her stumbling steps.

"No."

That one word spoken soft and vulnerable snapped through the air like a whip.

* * *

Inuyasha pushed her against the wall, not realizing the force beneath his action. Kagome cried out soundlessly at the jarring impact, but it barely registered in his turmoil of thoughts. A desperation gripped him as he pressed his hands against the wall on either side of Kagome's head, but his eyes were lowered, as if he dared not look up to face her for her answer.

Kagome tried to escape his siege, but Inuyasha's hands moved down to clutch her shoulders too tightly, pinning her to the red brickwork behind them. He tried, he really did. He tried _so hard_, unsure and unable to find the proper words. To find the proper magic syllables with which he could speak up and change the world. The utter confusion tried to melt him into nothingness, to be no more in this place where he was unwanted, trying to bring him to an insane promised land where he was.

Inuyasha fought this vague terror, frenzied; his grip on Kagome's shoulders intensified agonizingly.

* * *

With the jolt of pain Inuyasha crushed into her shoulder, Bankotsu flooded back in her mind's eye.

* * *

Finally, the incomprehensible words winged mouthward from his mind.

"What did I do, Kagome? What happened?" _To you, to me. _" Why are you punishing me like this? What is happening?" The low rumble of his voice gave way to fevered shouts, the letters gaining strength in union. He hated how plaintive he sounded.

* * *

Kagome didn't hear any of the words he had said, his face had long since warped to match Bankotsu's and her old interminable fear came gushing back, a froth of dark water that threatened to pull her under and saturate her mind with unwanted thoughts.

She clawed frantically at him, Bankotsu's leer scowling from Inuyasha's face. Her reason began waning like a suffering light bulb, and suddenly… it died.

The sky outside darkened and she was back at the empty construction site.

Fresh terror convulsed in jagged spirals inside her. She fought harder. Maybe if she could fight him off this time, none of it would have ever happened. She fought harder.

* * *

Inuyasha felt like he was outside himself. The more she tried to shove him away, the closer he brought himself to her, trying to force her to understand that whatever he had done, he was _sorry. _He pushed her up against the wall so hard, it must have bruised. He couldn't stop himself. He couldn't_ understand._

Suddenly, a ferocious anger bladed into him, as Sango slotted herself between him and Kagome. Her incredulous glare stilled his unreasonable desperation, blaming him back a step. Her eyes cut deep into him, leaving him to drown in the ichor of his own guilt. Then the appalling realization came…

_What had he just done?_

Sango turned around to comfort Kagome, allowing the other girl to sob quietly against her shoulder. Sango put her arms around her best friend, stroking her back soothingly. Casting one last disgusted look at Inuyasha, Sango began gently leading Kagome away.

The words were spoken so quietly, that perhaps they were only as thoughts to herself, but Inuyasha caught Sango's last words.

"Inuyasha Ishikawa… I'm ashamed of you."

* * *

Kagome lay against the stiff incline of the adjustable bed in the nurse's office. She was too confused and shaken to muse. Sango had wanted to stay, but the nurse had sent her away, the only thing bequeathed upon crying girls was an irritated roll of the eyes. Crying to get out of class did not deserve excessive sympathy. The nurse's private thoughts mangled Kagome's character, but the girl neither noticed nor cared.

Kagome lay unseeing and unfeeling, time completely ignoring her.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm a friend of Kagome's. I heard she was ill. May I come in?" A melodic voice inquired after the nurse, who was inevitably charmed by the rare politeness.

"Kikyou, was it? Of course. I'll leave you two to talk privately then. You wouldn't want an old lady to intrude upon your conversations," The nurse laughed, waiting expectantly for protest against her 'old lady' comment. She waited to be awarded with a nice, "Not at all, you are much too young to even know what the term _old _means. You cannot be over 30." In actuality, the nurse was nearing her late 50s. Hearing nothing in response to her fantasies, she sighed and left.

Kikyou waited until the nurse's footsteps had receded before turning and stepping towards Kagome.

"How are you feeling, Higurashi?" Kagome didn't answer, puzzling out the other girl's presence, unwonted and fey. "I don't know if you've already heard, and… I wonder if you don't already know, but…" Kikyou chuckled, "I wanted you to hear this from no one else but me." Not for the noble reasons she imagined, but for the hateful ones she felt. She anticipated Kagome Higurashi's reaction. She delighted in the resolution of her morbid curiosity. "Well… thing is… Inuyasha and I are kinda an… _item_," a smug inflection fingered the word. Kagome flinched. "Inuyasha wanted to tell you, but didn't know how, I suppose." Kikyou continued, plowing onward, "The other night when he came back with me to my apartment… and when we'd had sex… and when he'd said he'd loved me…" Kikyou paused delicately, letting her delicious news sink in. So she was stretching it a little, Inuyasha having neither said the words nor loved her. Having neither betrayed Kagome nor consummated the lie. But no matter. "Inuyasha doesn't want you anymore, Kagome. He and I have a bond, and what we share is special. I suppose you wouldn't understand, would you?" Kikyou's pitying laugh echoed dully in the nurse's office, "What you and Inuyasha had was fake. What I have with him is _so much more_," and Kikyou believed every word of it too. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to play such a pathetic role in our love story."

A small private satisfied smile graced Kikyou's lips as she turned and walked away, her mission complete. Naraku had said to hit Kagome, and hit her hard. She did, and the girl would never get back up.

* * *

Inuyasha stood on the other side of the door, stumbling backwards at Kikyou's approach on the other side. He was numb, stunned at every single word that Kikyou had delivered, the clean lines of her conviction pierced so deep. The ground fluctuated in angle and pattern, his every step felt unstable, the hallways rocking and shifting in disbelief. He had to hide, before he was seen. He had to digest what _all of this meant._ He couldn't believe what he'd done. He groped against the janitor's closet, lurching inside, leaving the hallway just as Kikyou entered it.

He stood against the unsympathetic wall in the darkness of mops and buckets and sponges and bottles of disinfectant. No wonder Kagome was so mad at him. _What had he done? _It was starting to come back to him, that night… Kikyou, mouth to mouth, hand to hand, tangled bedsheets and liquor and drugs. Bare skin, his or hers? Parts of it were blank, no memories evoked, impossibly forgotten. He remembered too much and too little, brief snatches all his mind afforded him. Nails painted red, clawing at his chest… he couldn't breath…

And suddenly, a phone number came back to him, inscribed on yellow lined paper, crinkled at the edges…

253-895… 7321.

Amid the integral figures, he wondered… _What have I done?_

* * *

Sango slid into her customary seat in the cafeteria, four empty chairs beside her, an empty table in front of her. Eri, Yuka and Ayumi were at an extended drama rehearsal, Kagome was recuperating at the nurse's. She was famished, the waft of lunch scouring her senses with a rough-edged hunger, but with no money in her lunch account and no friends around to harass for financial assistance, all she could do was fantasize and wait for the god-forsaken hour to be over.

She sighed, pulled out a book and waited.

"Hey, Sango, baby, mind if I sit down?" A male voice flaunting a twangy tenor, sounded in her ear. Without waiting for her consent, Kuranosuke slipped into the seat beside her. He didn't truly need her permission. "Remember my offer, babe? It still stands, you know."

"No. And I know. Sadly," Sango growled in chipped tones.

"I might ditch you for someone else if you keep refusing me." A threat? No. She didn't feel enough for those words to be a threat. It was funny though.

He put his arm around her comfortably, impervious to everything but his voice. _Damn, he had a fine voice_, he thought to himself. Why didn't Sango like it as much as he did? Strange thought that she didn't feel as he dictated. All the other girls did. There was nothing special about her, not _really_.

"Get off of me, please," Sango said sweetly, shrugging him off and trying to hide her irritation. This was the fifth week in the row that he'd pestered her. She really should try and be polite, she thought mournfully. The concept was as repulsive as his unreceptive sense of reason. Sango took a deep breath and struggled to be gracious.

* * *

Miroku carried two trays, balancing the weight of both easily on the flat terrace of either palm. He'd seen Sango plop into her usual seat, looking weary and depressed, glancing longingly at the lunch line. He'd guessed. Her table was empty, an unusual occurrence - for he'd never seen her without friends - but one that he could potentially benefit from. He sidled closer, considering every doubtful method of starting up a conversation, struggling for the right one.

This girl somehow seemed to throw him off. He didn't know why. Didn't understand why he'd wanted to talk to her, to smile at her since the first time he met her. He was normally very smooth with the ladies. Now, he seemed reduced to a sopping mess of pick-up lines, the only things that would come to mind.

It was the most peculiar feeling.

Miroku saw Kuranosuke from their class drop down into the seat beside Sango in a splash of arrogance. A minute worry stirred in his chest. He caught threads of conversation between the two as he neared.

"… I mean this in the nicest way possible… but you are the most abhorrent human being I have ever met…"

"… You're just saying that because I'm too good for you…"

_Hah,_ Miroku thought under his breath.

"Please just _go away, _and leave me _alone._" Sango's voice was adamant, she sounded tired.

"… Oh, but you look so much like my next girlfriend…"

_The man didn't know how to stop._

Miroku shook his head, stepped up his game, and put a stop to it.

"Sango, honey, how was your day? Tired?" Miroku slid the trays of food he'd bought in front of her. He leaned in for a quick peck on the mouth, and surprised, she let his lips touch hers.

Sango Rayu-mi tasted like sunshine.

Kuranosuke sat where he was, shocked, as Miroku completely disregarded him and prompted Sango to eat. As if unexpectedly noticing him, Miroku turned, looking pleasantly surprised at the company. Man, he should have taken drama. "Oh? Who are you? Sango's friend, I presume? Miroku Hamakura, Sango's boyfriend. Pleased to meet you," He extended his hand in greeting, but his eyes were laced with an unmistakable challenge, tolerant, but dangerous.

Sango, sputtering, recovered a measure of her composure and said evenly, "Kuranosuke, I'm sorry, but – ahem – as I was trying to say… I'm already, uh, taken."

Baffled, embarrassed and caught completely off-guard, Kuranosuke shuffled away without another word.

* * *

A few minutes passed, during which Sango struggled to find the proper questions to ask him. He'd sat down and saved her with careless grace and ease, and now, while she was searching, frustrated, for the right words, Miroku watched her and gave her time, enjoying her confusion. He poked a fork of spaghetti to her mouth, and unthinking, she ate it, still fuming and not noticing her own response, so natural that it didn't register in her consciousness.

"Thank you," she finally permitted, a grudging credit bestowed upon him. It was only then that she realized she had spaghetti in her mouth. Slowly, the appalling recognition of the fact that she might have_ actually_ let a guy feed her sank in.

Horrified, she glared at him.

"Now may I ask what you did all of that," she waved her arms to emphasize _that_, "for?" She could feel the blush prickling her cheeks as the extent of what had just transpired hit her.

"Kuranosuke's an ass. You looked like you could use the help."

She looked at him untrustingly. That seemed like such a satisfactory answer. She wanted to find a reason not to like him.

"And you looked hungry," Miroku shrugged.

Untroubled, he offered her another bite of pasta. In affable defeat, she relented, catching the noodles in her mouth. Somehow she couldn't help but smile.

Good god, it was too late for her.

The brief kiss lingered on her lips, tainted with tomato sauce, but she could still recall the distinct sensation.

Miroku Hamakura tasted like moonlight.

He smiled at her, and knew, in that one moment, that she was the one.

And somehow, in a vice-versa trajectory of thought, she knew too.

* * *

Inuyasha dialed the number with steady fingers; each tone in the pressed buttons intensified the dread in his stomach.

253…

These poisonous digits were the key. He was scared for what he might hear, but he had to know. This phone number held something. He took a deep breath.

895…

What had he done? What had Kikyou done?

What had _they _done?

7321.

The last number rolled off his fingertips.

The mechanical recorded voice of Naraku sounded in the earpiece, addressing his believed audience, "March 18, 2008. Agenda. Kikyou: To Ryukuo High. Assert "situation" to code:Alice. Delay all rehabilitation for as long as possible. Strike her the death blow. Bankotsu: Clean up at the 342nd Street construction site. You were sloppy. The code:Mad Hatter knows, but the current situation dictates that the code:Chesire Cat may still be in the dark. Code:Alice still mute, impressive charmwork, Bankotsu. Shikon no Tama obtained. End agenda. End report." A synthetic female voice activated, inquiring, "Scroll through previous messages? Press one. Delete agenda:0017048729? Press two. Leave a memo? Press three. Mark as urgent, cipher 01, 07? Press respectively 4 and/or 5. Press 6 to terminate session."

He knew who Alice was, and judging by the phrasing, he was the Cheshire Cat.

Inuyasha punched 6 and the phone line went dead.

* * *

He slowed to a nervous halt in front of the 342nd Street construction site. Inuyasha had dodged out of Ryukuo and ran here. It was abandoned for a noontime break, the workers straggling idly off to lunch, cigarettes caught between flexed fingers, knobby knuckles rough, palms calloused. Nicotine trailed auspiciously around them, like a good luck charm. It was what kept them sane.

Inuyasha stepped within the shadows of the metal framework's carcass, venturing closer and closer to the truth. Bankotsu had done something here. Something to do with Alice. Kagome.

And when he found her clothes strewn on the ground, smelling of her, her terror and his name…

_Oh, god._

It was a curious feeling. Shock, pain, madness, worry, frustration, disbelief, sadness, fury all churned in one ache in his chest.

He had never tasted anger like this. The Cheshire Cat knew and vowed to destroy Wonderland in Alice's name. Destroy this crazy place and return her from this dream. He would kill the Queen of Hearts; Bankotsu had painted all his white roses red. Inuyasha would kill him and return the weeping claret rose to white purity. Wonderland would be extinguished in Bankotsu's blood.

Press 6 to terminate session.

Thrice-three and always. 6 and 6 and 6..

* * *

Hahaha. I hope everybody got my Alice in Wonderland analogies. I was getting pretty creative right there, and I haven't seen the movie in years, so I have a feeling I may have started making up characters halfway through. Dunno. Actually, to be truthful, I don't really like that movie; I mean, dr_u_gs, anyone? XDDD. Just kidding. Everything Disney is wholesome and good.

Much obliged for your time, peeps! Now for our long-awaited PARODY!

Kuranosuke: "I'm too sexy for my shirt...too sexy for my socks.. too sexy for my Dora the Explorer underwear... too sexy for my bandaid- _SHIT_ THAT HURT..!"


End file.
